Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,101 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Pool were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Pool by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $362,196,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.6% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,020,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $152,249,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Stock Up 2.0 %

POOL stock opened at $364.31 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $343.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.30, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $368.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool 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.