Korea Investment CORP Buys 9,397 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 116.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,397 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Pool were worth $5,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of POOL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Pool during the third quarter valued at $152,249,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,750,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Pool by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 274,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $93,474,000 after buying an additional 69,435 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on POOL. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.33.

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Insider Activity at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pool Stock Performance

POOL traded up $1.20 on Friday, hitting $315.05. 789,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,101. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $336.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Pool Co. has a 52 week low of $293.51 and a 52 week high of $402.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $961.04 million. On average, research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Pool's dividend payout ratio is 42.55%.

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.