Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,750 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Pool were worth $5,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 0.8% during the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Pool by 5.4% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.4% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 6,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,746,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of Pool by 4.2% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 747 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens decreased their target price on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $350.00.

Pool Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $356.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.09. Pool Co. has a one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 2.48.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.89 earnings per share. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

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.