JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 20,292 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,240,021 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 20,292 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Pool were worth $422,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of POOL. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of Pool by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 2,149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Pool by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 60,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Pool by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 17,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Pool by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,650,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Pool by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $368.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $314.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $340.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, 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 $403.61.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s payout ratio is 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.