Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,511 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of POOL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter worth $60,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on POOL shares. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Pool Price Performance

NASDAQ:POOL opened at $364.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $343.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.71. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $961.04 million. On average, analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.