Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Pool were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Pool by 10.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,029 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $248,000. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Pool by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 2,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Pool during the third quarter worth about $736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 2.0 %

POOL stock opened at $364.31 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $343.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.71.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on POOL. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

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.