Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Has $41.59 Million Stock Holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,630 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,318 shares during the period. Pool makes up 4.0% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Pool worth $41,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Pool by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 419,919 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $143,167,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in Pool by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 15,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,353,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $12,438,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $342.00.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $292.77. 2,177,454 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 422,237. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.86. Pool Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $282.22 and a fifty-two week high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 7.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. 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 payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Pool Company 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.