Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 236 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 1.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,435 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,178,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,273 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 166,513 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,742,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

Pool stock opened at $325.94 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $342.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $354.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $418.32.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.