Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,173 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,562 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.11% of Pool worth $13,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the third quarter valued at approximately $152,249,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,833,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Pool by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $474,886,000 after acquiring an additional 232,914 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,750,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69,435 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Pool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $368.00.

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Pool Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ POOL traded up $1.30 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $326.93. 308,509 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,192. Pool Co. has a 12-month low of $293.51 and a 12-month high of $415.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $342.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $354.12.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool's payout ratio is 42.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total transaction of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.