Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Director Sells $3,460,000.00 in Stock

Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of Pool stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock traded up $4.46 on Friday, reaching $347.00. The stock had a trading volume of 468,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,865. The business's 50-day moving average price is $342.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 2.05. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $422.73. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Pool Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool's payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pool

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of POOL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pool by 37,863.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 137,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $51,926,000 after buying an additional 137,445 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Pool in the third quarter valued at $720,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 204,730 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $77,142,000 after buying an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Pool by 816.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 40,860 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,601,000 after buying an additional 36,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP acquired a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter worth about $653,000. 98.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

POOL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pool presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $368.00.

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.