Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 20,487 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,177 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.34% of Pool worth $44,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Pool by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on POOL. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $336.22.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of Pool stock traded down $1.18 on Friday, reaching $302.29. The stock had a trading volume of 363,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,273. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $308.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.26.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.90%.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign 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.