Neuberger Berman Group LLC Sells 18,702 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 597,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 18,702 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $203,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 816.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,601,000 after purchasing an additional 36,403 shares during the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $653,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 15,576 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,869,000 after purchasing an additional 4,954 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pool in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Pool by 104.0% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL stock opened at $313.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $331.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.06. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $284.28 and a 52 week high of $395.60.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on POOL. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

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.