California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,423 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,158 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Pool were worth $28,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Pool by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $308,156,000 after buying an additional 313,190 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Pool by 463.2% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,686,000 after buying an additional 197,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Pool by 30,047.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,322,000 after buying an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Pool by 55.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 339,378 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $120,852,000 after buying an additional 120,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Pool by 22.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,885,000 after buying an additional 114,298 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on POOL shares. TheStreet downgraded Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $397.80.

Pool Price Performance

POOL opened at $371.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $392.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $373.76. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $307.77 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. Pool’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

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.