De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez Sells 10,000 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Stock

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Pool Price Performance

NASDAQ POOL opened at $347.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $343.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.57. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.38%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.55%.

Institutional Trading of Pool

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Line Capital LLC raised its stake in Pool by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 888 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Pool by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Pool by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in Pool by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Pool by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 upgraded Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

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.