Sapient Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,140 Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,140 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 77 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 96.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 118 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet lowered shares of Pool from a "b" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Pool from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $391.80.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded up $4.54 on Friday, hitting $364.65. 430,034 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,506. Pool Co. has a one year low of $307.77 and a one year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company's 50 day moving average price is $390.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $374.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Pool's payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other Pool news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.