Man Group plc lowered its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 71.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,504 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 57,470 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.06% of Pool worth $8,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 21,870 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Pool by 22.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $474,886,000 after acquiring an additional 232,914 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Pool by 27.5% in 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pool by 1.4% in 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Pool by 6.2% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.
Pool Price Performance
Shares of POOL stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $303.47. 375,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,719. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $284.28 and a fifty-two week high of $395.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $309.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.96. The company has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77.
Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. Pool's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Pool Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.
Pool announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
POOL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $336.22.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on POOL
Insider Activity at Pool
In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Pool Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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