Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Pool Corporation $POOL

Key Points

• Board authorized a $600 million buyback (about 7.8% of shares) and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30, signaling management confidence and stronger shareholder returns.
• Pool beat on EPS ($1.43 vs. $1.34 est.) but its revenue materially missed (reported $1.14B vs. $1.82B expected), raising concerns about end‑market demand while shares trade below key moving averages.
• Vanguard slightly trimmed its position by 0.4% to 3.91M shares (about 10.51% ownership), and insiders showed mixed activity—CFO sold shares while a director purchased 5,000 shares.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,913,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 14,077 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.51% of Pool worth $895,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Pool by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Pool by 133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 126 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, CFO Melanie M. Hart sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $605,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,968,580. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $205.00 per share, with a total value of $1,025,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 110,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,572,140. The trade was a 4.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a large buyback — management approved up to $600 million in share repurchases (about 7.8% of shares), signaling confidence in the business and supporting EPS/float. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — Pool raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 (a 4.0% increase), with an ex-dividend date of May 14, which strengthens the stock’s income profile for yield-seeking investors. TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party mention — Pool was included in a Zacks roundup of companies increasing dividends amid market volatility, which may attract income-focused investors but is not unique news. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail product noise — consumer stories and deep discounting on robot pool cleaners (flash sales and reviews) increase pool-product visibility but have ambiguous impact on Pool Corp’s pro-focused distribution and margins. MassLive
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue shortfall in last quarter — while Pool beat EPS, reported revenue ($1.14B) materially missed the consensus cited in the background, which has investors concerned about end-market demand and sustainable top-line momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and liquidity headwinds — shares are trading below the 50‑day and 200‑day moving averages and volume today is below average, which can amplify downside pressure as momentum traders step back.

Pool Price Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $208.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $213.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.12. Pool Corporation has a 12-month low of $195.49 and a 12-month high of $345.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.

Pool declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Pool's payout ratio is currently 46.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on POOL. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pool from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $265.13.

About Pool

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation's extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company's product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.

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