IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL – Get Rating) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,052 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Pool by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its stake in Pool by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 76 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Pool by 241.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank N A MO purchased a new stake in Pool in the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Pool by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.88% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $373.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.88. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $324.14 and a 12 month high of $582.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $368.97 and its 200 day moving average is $413.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The specialty retailer reported $7.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.40 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Pool had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 68.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.37 EPS. Research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 18.37 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 11th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on POOL shares. Longbow Research upgraded shares of Pool from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 19th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Pool to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. Edward Jones initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $560.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Pool from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $398.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $448.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter D. Arvan bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $387.08 per share, for a total transaction of $193,540.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,931,221. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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; fiberglass pools, and hot tubs and packaged pool kits comprising walls, liners, braces, and coping for in-ground and above-ground pools; pool equipment and components for new pool construction and the remodeling of existing pools; and irrigation and related products consisting of irrigation system components, and professional lawn care equipment and supplies.