Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,817 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Pool during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 22.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 37,863.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth $40,750,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $359.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $355.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $354.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. Pool’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.