Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,403 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Pool were worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pool by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Pool by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pool by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 134,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,729,000 after purchasing an additional 21,684 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Pool by 101.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Pool by 19.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $366.00 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $359.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.07. The stock has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.01.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a return on equity of 32.85% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 10.98 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on POOL shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.89.

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.