Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Stake Boosted by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 972 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Pool by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth $60,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Stock Down 3.8 %

Pool stock opened at $320.75 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $420.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $343.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

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.