Covea Finance Buys Shares of 6,000 Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Covea Finance bought a new stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,910,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Pool by 27.5% during 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 increased its position in Pool by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $332,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,519 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 6.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pool Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ POOL traded up $6.78 on Tuesday, hitting $300.74. 740,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,648. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $301.17 and a 200-day moving average of $325.38. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Pool's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Pool's payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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.