Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Acquired by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,255 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,903 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Pool worth $12,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Pool by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Pool by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 21,222 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,235,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,262,000. Heron Bay Capital Management boosted its stake in Pool by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 7,128 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,430,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 7.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens cut their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $344.50.

Pool Stock Up 1.9%

Pool stock traded up $6.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $323.02. The stock had a trading volume of 599,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,662. 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 fifty day moving average price of $300.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.93. The company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.10. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $5.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.19 by ($0.02). 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 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The business's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

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

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.