Pool Corporation $POOL Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 519,836 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 35,394 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $118,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool in the second quarter worth $30,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Pool in the second quarter worth $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Pool by 78.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Pool by 133.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 126 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate announcements from non-U.S. companies involving share pools, buybacks, and incentive-pool changes, which do not appear related to Pool Corporation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local news about public pool openings and pricing changes, which is unrelated to Pool Corporation’s business performance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Crypto articles referencing “miner pools,” which have no direct bearing on Pool Corporation.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on POOL shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Pool from $346.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Pool from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on Pool in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Pool from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.38.

Pool Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $184.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Pool Corporation has a 1-year low of $172.68 and a 1-year high of $345.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.57.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Pool had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 7.57%.The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is 47.84%.

Pool announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to purchase up to 7.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John E. Stokely purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $193.06 per share, for a total transaction of $193,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,363.80. This trade represents a 6.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Romain Kenneth G. St purchased 5,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $218.67 per share, with a total value of $1,215,805.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 82,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,115,716.15. This trade represents a 7.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 32,549 shares of company stock worth $6,283,552 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Profile

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.