Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $650,000 Investment in Pool Corporation $POOL

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 2,843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $650,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,563,373 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $794,825,000 after purchasing an additional 357,643 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pool by 3,831.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,001,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,955,000 after buying an additional 1,951,070 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Pool by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,371,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $313,794,000 after buying an additional 23,736 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Pool by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 837,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,614,000 after buying an additional 148,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,612,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, Director James D. Hope purchased 464 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $194.41 per share, with a total value of $90,206.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,039.98. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John E. Stokely acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $193.06 per share, with a total value of $193,060.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 16,230 shares in the company, valued at $3,133,363.80. This represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 21,989 shares of company stock valued at $4,042,747 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ POOL opened at $195.61 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.04. Pool Corporation has a 52 week low of $172.68 and a 52 week high of $345.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10.

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. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Pool’s payout ratio is 47.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pool from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Pool from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.38.

Key Stories Impacting Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: A recent MarketWatch-style article asks whether Pool Corporation is “underperforming the Nasdaq,” which may reinforce investor caution around the stock’s recent relative weakness, but it does not include a new catalyst or fundamental change. Is Pool Corporation Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several other headlines about “reflecting pools” and unrelated swimming-pool content mention pools in a generic sense, but they are not related to Pool Corporation’s business and should have little to no impact on the stock. Article reference

Pool Company 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.