Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 106,186 Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 106,186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,203,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $315.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $336.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $352.37. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $402.45. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

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.