Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Pool were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Pool in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Pool in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on POOL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Pool Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $364.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 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 $420.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $343.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.74. The stock has a market cap of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $987.48 million during 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, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Pool’s payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.