Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Sells 910 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 910 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter valued at $202,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Pool by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in Pool during the 3rd quarter worth about $244,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 14.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 30,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,603,000 after buying an additional 3,788 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $326.93 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $342.15 and a 200-day moving average of $354.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $415.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Pool’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Company 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.