Machina Capital S.A.S. Makes New $643,000 Investment in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Pool Corporation, purchasing 2,020 shares valued at approximately $643,000 during the first quarter.
• Pool Corporation increased its quarterly dividend from $1.20 to $1.25 per share, representing an annualized total of $5.00 and a yield of 1.54%.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Pool's stock, with consensus indicating a target of $348.25, while Wells Fargo recently raised its target to $320.00.

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,020 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 0.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $355,435,000 after acquiring an additional 224,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 1.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted 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 boosted its stake 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 valued at $216,840,000 after acquiring an additional 129,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $338.71.

Pool Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Pool stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $324.48. The stock had a trading volume of 173,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,553. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1 year low of $282.22 and a 1 year high of $395.60.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. 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 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.13%.

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

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.