Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Pool worth $12,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter worth $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Pool by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Pool by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $355,435,000 after purchasing an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 598,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,117,000 after purchasing an additional 194,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,840,000 after purchasing an additional 129,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on POOL. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a 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. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $320.82 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $338.20. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.