Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 143 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,990 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Pool were worth $678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 2,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Pool in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

POOL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $368.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pool Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of POOL stock opened at $325.94 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.23. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $418.32. The stock has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

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.