Washington Trust Bank Cuts Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Washington Trust Bank reduced its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 914 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Pool were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Pool during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Pool by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $368.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $320.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $420.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $342.60 and its 200 day moving average is $354.17.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.55%.

About Pool

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.