Candriam S.C.A. Has $296,000 Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Candriam S.C.A. cut its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Pool were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 4.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $248,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $736,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 11.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 8.6% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,583 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,495,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $364.12 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.74. Pool Co. has a one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $420.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other 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 transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Company 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.