Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 612 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of POOL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Pool by 56.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $308,156,000 after purchasing an additional 313,190 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 463.2% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 240,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,686,000 after acquiring an additional 197,900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 183,288 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 55.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 339,378 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $120,852,000 after acquiring an additional 120,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pool by 22.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,885,000 after acquiring an additional 114,298 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Pool from $407.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Pool in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded shares of Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.80.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $371.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $392.78 and its 200 day moving average is $373.76. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $307.77 and a 1 year high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Pool 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.