Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $4.97 Million Stake in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Pool were worth $4,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of POOL. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Pool by 907.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 37,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,768,000 after buying an additional 33,686 shares during the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the first quarter worth about $921,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its position in Pool by 40.4% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter worth about $429,000. Finally, Covea Finance acquired a new position in Pool during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,910,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 target price on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.00.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL stock opened at $302.67 on Thursday. Pool Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.22 and a 1-year high of $395.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $300.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $322.42. The firm has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released 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 net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 30.11%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change 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%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.