Park Place Capital Corp Trims Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Park Place Capital Corp lessened its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Pool were worth $372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Pool during the third quarter worth approximately $152,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 37,863.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,926,000 after buying an additional 137,445 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,750,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in Pool by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 217,572 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,981,000 after acquiring an additional 66,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $359.93 on Thursday. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $355.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Pool’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 41.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.25.

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.