Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,579 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $152,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 137,445 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in Pool during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,750,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Pool by 44.3% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 217,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,981,000 after purchasing an additional 66,791 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $359.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $355.49 and its 200-day moving average is $354.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. 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, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.