Focus Partners Wealth Buys 33,686 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 907.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 33,686 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned approximately 0.10% of Pool worth $12,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Pool by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 400,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $136,599,000 after acquiring an additional 13,542 shares during the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $8,272,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $592,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Pool by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Pool Stock Performance

Pool stock traded up $7.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $320.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 825,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,342. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $284.28 and a 1-year high of $395.60. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $310.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.03. The company has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Pool's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Pool's payout ratio is 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

About Pool

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.