Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank decreased its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,830 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Pool were worth $2,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 22.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $362,196,000 after buying an additional 6,232 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Pool by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $213,020,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Pool by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 419,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $143,167,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Pool during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $152,249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on POOL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Stock Up 1.3 %

POOL opened at $347.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $342.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. On average, research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.55%.

Pool Profile

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.