ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC reduced its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,516 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,412 shares during the quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Pool worth $27,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Pool by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after acquiring an additional 224,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $332,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,817 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,416,000 after acquiring an additional 44,884 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pool Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded down $10.90 on Tuesday, reaching $295.34. The company had a trading volume of 472,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,931. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $316.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.15. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $284.28 and a 52-week high of $395.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. Pool's revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on POOL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens lowered their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 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 objective on the stock. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $336.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.