Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $617,000 Holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 91.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 19,873 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Pool were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 907.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,768,000 after purchasing an additional 33,686 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 104.0% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $336.22.

Pool Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $285.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $302.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $327.83. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.22 and a 52 week high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 7.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.

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