Savant Capital LLC Invests $217,000 in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 545 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Pool by 3.6% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,845,204 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $657,077,000 after acquiring an additional 63,413 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Pool by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $308,156,000 after buying an additional 313,190 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Pool by 1.6% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 777,707 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $276,941,000 after buying an additional 12,389 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Pool by 22.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $225,885,000 after buying an additional 114,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pool by 10.9% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 606,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,038,000 after acquiring an additional 59,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Trading Up 0.5 %

Pool stock opened at $372.68 on Wednesday. Pool Co. has a 12-month low of $307.77 and a 12-month high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $375.37.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Pool’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.