Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Stock Holdings in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its holdings in shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM – Get Rating) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,335 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 9,011 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned 0.07% of PulteGroup worth $10,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PulteGroup by 0.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,429,564 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,336,000 after purchasing an additional 50,903 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,308,416 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $289,682,000 after buying an additional 55,564 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,450,380 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $250,281,000 after buying an additional 14,304 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in PulteGroup by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,771,204 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $173,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in PulteGroup by 96.6% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,349,560 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.34% of the company’s stock.

Shares of PulteGroup stock traded up $1.65 on Tuesday, reaching $43.72. 60,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,072,797. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.42. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.61 and a 1-year high of $63.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 1st. The construction company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. PulteGroup’s payout ratio is 8.04%.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

A number of analysts have recently commented on PHM shares. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on PulteGroup in a research report on Tuesday, April 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on PulteGroup from $63.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. UBS Group raised PulteGroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Investment Research cut shares of PulteGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.25.

In other news, VP John J. Chadwick sold 15,090 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $740,164.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About PulteGroup (Get Rating)

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brand names.

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