Capital World Investors Sells 91,318 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Capital World Investors reduced its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 226,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 91,318 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Pool were worth $77,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Pool by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $360.33.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock opened at $296.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $284.28 and a twelve month high of $395.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $327.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.24.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.