Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Acquires 5,360 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,360 shares during the quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $13,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Pool by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $355,435,000 after purchasing an additional 224,674 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc boosted its position in shares of Pool by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 598,689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,117,000 after purchasing an additional 194,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Pool by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,840,000 after buying an additional 129,780 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on POOL shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens cut their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.22.

Pool Trading Up 2.3%

POOL opened at $320.82 on Monday. Pool Co. has a one year low of $284.28 and a one year high of $395.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $310.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $338.03. 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) last announced 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). Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.