Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Pool were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in POOL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Pool by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $355,435,000 after acquiring an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $332,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,519 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Pool by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,416,000 after acquiring an additional 44,884 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on POOL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $313.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $312.91 and its 200-day moving average is $339.26. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $284.28 and a 52-week high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Pool’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

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.