T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 10,210 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,727 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,210 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.35% of Pool worth $45,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $355,435,000 after buying an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $332,566,000 after buying an additional 13,519 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pool by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 763,817 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,416,000 after buying an additional 44,884 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research report 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 on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens dropped their target price on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded up $6.44 on Friday, hitting $302.79. The stock had a trading volume of 77,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,738. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $319.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.71. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $284.28 and a twelve month high of $395.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05.

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

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Pool's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is 45.03%.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.