Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 7,456 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,699 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,456 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of Pool worth $7,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Pool by 22.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Pool by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after purchasing an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Pool by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $216,840,000 after purchasing an additional 129,780 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $36,203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of Pool stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $302.29. The company had a trading volume of 363,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,645. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $336.26. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $284.28 and a 1-year high of $395.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $336.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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. This represents a 13.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Pool

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.