Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 124 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pool by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $362,196,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Pool by 0.6% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Pool by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 419,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $143,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth about $152,249,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pool Stock Down 0.1 %

Pool stock opened at $320.14 on Friday. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $354.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.