Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Pool were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Pool by 37,863.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,926,000 after acquiring an additional 137,445 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Pool by 67.4% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 306,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,651,000 after purchasing an additional 123,387 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Pool in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,436,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Pool by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Finally, Torray Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Pool by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 14,128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,342,000 after buying an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on POOL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Pool from $345.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $369.11.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $370.63. The company had a trading volume of 421,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,488. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $422.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 31.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.31%.

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.