Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,972 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 389,788 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,972 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of PulteGroup worth $42,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PulteGroup during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 317 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of PulteGroup by 551.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. 89.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PulteGroup

In other news, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert Oshaughnessy sold 71,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.83, for a total value of $9,573,873.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,043,420.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Folliard sold 19,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.14, for a total value of $2,491,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,931,462.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 119,000 shares of company stock worth $15,814,039. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM opened at $131.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $120.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.40. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.80 and a 12-month high of $136.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.61.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.56. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PHM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PulteGroup from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on PulteGroup from $129.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered PulteGroup from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.14.

About PulteGroup

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, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.