Copeland Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,572 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Pool worth $40,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP raised its position in shares of Pool by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 2,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners raised its position in shares of Pool by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 189,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $75,573,000 after purchasing an additional 33,402 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in Pool by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $371.00 to $368.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $388.63.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL opened at $403.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $307.77 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $369.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.02. Pool had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 37.94%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.03%.

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.