Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,521 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $65,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth $7,221,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Pool by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $12,438,000. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in Pool by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 15,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,353,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pool Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ POOL opened at $347.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Pool Co. has a one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $422.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $342.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.50.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

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.