BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Decreases Stock Position in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Asset Management decreased its stock position in Pool Corporation by 8.7% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.09% of the company’s stock worth over $10 million.
• Several analysts updated their ratings on Pool Corporation, with price targets ranging from $320 to $346, reflecting a general consensus rating of "Hold".
• Pool Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%, alongside a $600 million share buyback program to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,993 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,067 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.09% of Pool worth $10,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,353,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Pool by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,054,066 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $335,562,000 after buying an additional 11,552 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Pool by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 19,472 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,199,000 after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Pool by 53.1% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.14.

Pool Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ POOL opened at $321.75 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $304.12 and a 200-day moving average of $314.12.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.79% and a return on equity of 30.99%. Pool's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.13%.

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

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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