Copeland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Copeland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 125,173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,003 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $39,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pool by 471.4% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Pool during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Pool by 790.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL opened at $292.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $300.48 and its 200 day moving average is $323.86. Pool Corporation has a 12-month low of $282.22 and a 12-month high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 7.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.00.

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.