Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $2.06 Million Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Pool by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 49,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,720,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares during the period. James Hambro & Partners lifted its holdings in Pool by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 189,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $75,573,000 after buying an additional 33,402 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pool by 30,047.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,322,000 after buying an additional 183,288 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pool by 394.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $4,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other Pool news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pool Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $365.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $394.15 and a 200-day moving average of $373.05. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. Pool Co. has a one year low of $307.77 and a one year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 33.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. TheStreet lowered shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.80.

Pool 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.