735 Shares in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Acquired by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 735 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $8,294,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $1,869,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Down 0.4%

Pool stock opened at $302.29 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $308.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $284.28 and a 52-week high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.22.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.