Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Stock Holdings Lifted by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,980 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.25% of Pool worth $31,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,456,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,418,646,000 after acquiring an additional 12,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Pool by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,284,918 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,054,000 after purchasing an additional 44,897 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its position in shares of Pool by 48.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 1st quarter worth about $168,735,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 1st quarter worth about $144,901,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on POOL shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.14.

Pool Stock Up 5.7%

NASDAQ POOL opened at $330.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 1.07. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 7.79%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.13%.

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

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.