Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Acquires 419 Shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Pool by 471.4% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Pool by 790.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 98 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Pool during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $306.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.10. Pool Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.22 and a 12 month high of $395.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $301.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.95.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 30.11% and a net margin of 7.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Pool in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $344.50.

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.