Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 2,997 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,334 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Pool worth $20,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 17,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Pool by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,305 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $9,650,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Pool by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,514,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Pool by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,596 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $14,182,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the period. Finally, Heron Bay Capital Management raised its position in shares of Pool by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Heron Bay Capital Management now owns 7,128 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $365.33.

Pool Stock Down 0.1 %

POOL traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $318.13. 382,676 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $402.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $339.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.40. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Pool's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Insider Activity at Pool

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 company insiders.

About Pool

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.