Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,693 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,731 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $31,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 68.9% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 232.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Pool by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $369.25.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $351.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $366.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.75. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.02 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

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.