Neuberger Berman Group LLC Cuts Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 597,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 18,702 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 1.57% of Pool worth $203,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Pool in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on POOL. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.33.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $313.56 on Thursday. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $284.28 and a 52 week high of $395.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.06. The firm has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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 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. Equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

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 transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.