Royal Bank of Canada Has $44.72 Million Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,487 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.34% of Pool worth $44,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on POOL shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $336.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Down 3.7%

POOL opened at $302.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $284.28 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $309.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $337.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Pool’s payout ratio is 46.90%.

Pool declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.