Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Select Equity Group L.P.

Select Equity Group L.P. reduced its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 365,912 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 281,334 shares during the quarter. Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings in Pool were worth $112,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $44,697,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Pool by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,875 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,330,000 after purchasing an additional 7,672 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $187,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on POOL. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens cut their price objective on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $350.00.

Pool Price Performance

POOL stock opened at $370.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $353.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.65.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

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.