Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lowered its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 38,302 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.32% of Pool worth $42,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,514,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,870 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Pool by 22.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Pool by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,042,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $355,435,000 after buying an additional 224,674 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 977,862 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $332,566,000 after buying an additional 13,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,840,000 after buying an additional 129,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pool Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ POOL opened at $315.05 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $402.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $336.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s payout ratio is 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.