Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 1,377 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 21.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,892 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Pool were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,516,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in Pool by 92.0% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 288 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Pool by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 444,337 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $141,455,000 after acquiring an additional 24,418 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Pool by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,978 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded down $4.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $306.32. 435,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,808. Pool Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.22 and a 1-year high of $395.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $301.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 7.77%. 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 previous year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Pool's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens lowered 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $344.50.

Pool Company 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.