Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp trimmed its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 26.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Pool were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in POOL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pool by 30,047.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,322,000 after purchasing an additional 183,288 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $917,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $360.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $347.22.

Pool Price Performance

Pool stock traded up $10.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $358.52. 182,509 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,474. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $364.63. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.00. Pool Co. has a 1-year low of $293.51 and a 1-year high of $422.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.56%.

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.