Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,049 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $4,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Pool by 22.7% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $362,196,000 after acquiring an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Pool by 25.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Pool by 0.6% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Pool Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $314.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $340.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.55. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $403.61. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. Equities analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.