Cullen Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 45.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 779 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,041,000. Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Pool by 84.9% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 12,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Pool by 104.0% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,778 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Pool by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.33.

Insider Activity

In other Pool news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Price Performance

POOL stock opened at $315.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $336.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $402.45.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $987.48 million during 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.