Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 379 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Pool in the third quarter valued at $152,249,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Pool by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,750,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 44.3% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 217,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,981,000 after purchasing an additional 66,791 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL opened at $327.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.35. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $420.98. The company has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Pool’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Pool Company Profile

Pool Corporation distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products in the United States and internationally. The company offers maintenance products, including chemicals, supplies, and pool accessories; repair and replacement parts for pool equipment, such as cleaners, filters, heaters, pumps, and lights; and building materials, such as concrete, plumbing and electrical components, functional and decorative pool surfaces, decking materials, tiles, hardscapes, and natural stones for pool installations and remodeling.