Tortoise Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 79.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Pool by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Pool stock opened at $364.12 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $343.08 and a 200-day moving average of $355.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G 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 $420.98.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid 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 1.32%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

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.