Polen Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 62.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,962 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,290 shares during the quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Pool by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Trading Up 2.0 %

POOL stock opened at $327.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.21. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $420.98.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.