Xponance Inc. Decreases Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,525 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 8,435 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,178,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Pool by 43.4% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 25,502 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,609,000 after purchasing an additional 7,724 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the third quarter valued at $202,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its stake in Pool by 8.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,273 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Pool by 6.5% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

POOL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $320.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $342.60 and a 200-day moving average of $354.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $420.00.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

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.