Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) SVP Jennifer M. Neil Sells 1,223 Shares of Stock

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Pool Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of POOL stock opened at $318.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $402.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on POOL. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Pool in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Institutional Trading of Pool

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of POOL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in Pool in the third quarter worth $152,249,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth about $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after acquiring an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Pool by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $355,435,000 after acquiring an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Pool by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,840,000 after purchasing an additional 129,780 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.