Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,880 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Pool worth $16,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Pool by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,596 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $14,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 17,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,966,000 after buying an additional 9,397 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $36,203,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pool by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,946 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Pool by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 6,312 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $308.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 493,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,936. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $301.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Pool announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Pool's payout ratio is currently 46.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Pool from $322.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $342.14.

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.