Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Bought by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC increased its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pool by 37,863.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,926,000 after buying an additional 137,445 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Pool by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Pool during the third quarter worth about $720,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 3.5% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 204,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $77,142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in shares of Pool by 1.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 5,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pool Trading Up 0.2 %

POOL opened at $350.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $355.98 and its 200-day moving average is $353.50. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.03.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on POOL shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

About Pool

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.