Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Sells 2,665 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA decreased its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 49.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,751 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,665 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Pool were worth $892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 27.5% during 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 buying an additional 224,674 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $332,566,000 after buying an additional 13,519 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 valued at $260,416,000 after buying an additional 44,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings 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 valued at $216,840,000 after buying an additional 129,780 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $336.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock traded down $6.93 on Friday, hitting $288.90. 550,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 416,392. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.12. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company's revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.