First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 91.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,713 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 130,679 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Pool were worth $3,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 57.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new position in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $765,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $336.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, 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. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pool Price Performance

POOL traded down $10.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $295.34. 472,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 385,749. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average price is $317.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.47. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $284.28 and a 1-year high of $395.60.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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.