Mariner LLC Sells 261 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Mariner LLC lessened its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,980 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in Pool by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Pool by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pool by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,993,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pool by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $360.33.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $306.68 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $327.06 and its 200 day moving average is $346.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG 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.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, 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. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.