Allianz SE Acquires New Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Allianz SE bought a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $382,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Pool by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 531 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Pool by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 6,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Pool by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,840,000 after purchasing an additional 129,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Pool by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,946 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pool Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of POOL stock opened at $314.92 on Monday. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $293.51 and a 1 year high of $403.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $340.58 and its 200-day moving average is $353.55. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $961.04 million. Equities analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on POOL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Pool Company 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.