Royce & Associates LP Sells 13,018 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has reduced its stake in Pool Corporation by 21.8%, now owning 46,606 shares valued at approximately $14.8 million.
• Pool Corporation recently announced a dividend increase to $1.25 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.00 with a yield of 1.54%.
• Despite trading down to $324.90, Pool's stock showed resilience with a recent quarterly EPS of $5.17, surpassing the consensus estimate.

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,606 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 13,018 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.12% of Pool worth $14,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of POOL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $144,901,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 259,002 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 worth $355,435,000 after buying an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 194,632 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 129,780 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of POOL traded up $1.07 on Monday, hitting $325.97. 193,781 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 525,620. The company has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 2.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.77. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $282.22 and a one year high of $395.60.

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

Pool announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. 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 upgraded shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $338.71.

About Pool

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.