Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. cut its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Pool were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Pool by 13.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,693 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Pool by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,912 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in shares of Pool by 32.1% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 1,236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 8.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 20,254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,632,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 0.4 %

POOL opened at $315.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. Pool Co. has a one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $402.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $336.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $352.12.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.33.

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.