Northern Trust Corp Buys 79,090 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,090 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.18% of Pool worth $153,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in Pool by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,993,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lowered their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Pool Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ POOL opened at $306.69 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $284.28 and a 52 week 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 has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $318.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.31.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool 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.