Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC Has $97.43 Million Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC lessened its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,757 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,119 shares during the quarter. Pool comprises about 1.1% of Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.75% of Pool worth $97,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in Pool by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 219,803 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $74,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 25,925 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $8,839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,868 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 216,612 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $73,852,000 after buying an additional 41,777 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Pool by 73.6% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on POOL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $336.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value 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 approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Pool Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $296.75. The stock had a trading volume of 261,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,789. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $320.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.21. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $284.28 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The company has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Pool announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.