Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Acquired by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,704 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned about 0.06% of Pool worth $8,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $295.79. 473,101 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 386,278. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $284.28 and a twelve month high of $395.60. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $315.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

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.