Legal & General Group Plc Has $16.06 Million Holdings in Pool Corporation $POOL

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 52.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 70,196 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 76,525 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Pool were worth $16,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 348.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $261.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other Pool news, Director James D. Hope acquired 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $194.41 per share, with a total value of $90,206.24. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,039.98. This represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David G. Whalen acquired 525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $190.44 per share, with a total value of $99,981.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,936 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,771.84. This trade represents a 6.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 26,989 shares of company stock valued at $5,067,747 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 0.4%

Pool stock opened at $182.07 on Tuesday. Pool Corporation has a twelve month low of $172.68 and a twelve month high of $345.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.44. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 EPS for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 47.84%.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Pool Profile

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.