Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc cut its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 26.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in Pool were worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of POOL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21,870 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Pool by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after buying an additional 224,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $332,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,519 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,817 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,416,000 after purchasing an additional 44,884 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased 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 worth $216,840,000 after acquiring an additional 129,780 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $342.00.

Pool Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:POOL traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $291.48. 1,106,336 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 423,479. The firm has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $323.18. Pool Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.22 and a 52-week high of $395.60. 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 (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm 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 predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS 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 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire 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.

Pool 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.