William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 576,652 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 71,396 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.50% of Pool worth $177,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Pool by 68.9% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pool by 232.4% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Pool by 26.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 207 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the second quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pool during the second quarter valued at about $75,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on POOL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Pool from $285.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens cut their target price on Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $305.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America cut their target price on Pool from $338.00 to $290.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pool has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $350.00.

Pool Stock Up 2.8 %

POOL traded up $9.53 on Friday, hitting $356.02. The company had a trading volume of 191,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $360.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.09. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.89 earnings per share. Pool's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Pool's payout ratio is 37.56%.

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.