Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,260 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,722 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Pool were worth $3,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Pool in the first quarter worth $144,901,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 33,549.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 259,774 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $82,699,000 after acquiring an additional 259,002 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Pool by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after acquiring an additional 224,674 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its stake in shares of Pool by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 598,689 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $204,117,000 after acquiring an additional 194,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Pool by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $216,840,000 after acquiring an additional 129,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $298.86. 688,291 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,745. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Pool Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.22 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.78.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Stephens cut their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on 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 started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.