Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 13,542 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 400,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 13,542 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 1.05% of Pool worth $136,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Pool in the third quarter worth $60,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Pool by 22.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its position in Pool by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Pool by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,028 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,714,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Pool by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,252 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $336.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pool Trading Down 1.5%

POOL traded down $4.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.02. 442,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,099. Pool Co. has a one year low of $284.28 and a one year high of $395.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $311.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $339.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.90%.

Pool announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.