Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,853 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,023 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $17,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Pool by 2,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Pool in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Pool in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Pool by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pool

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.00, for a total value of $3,460,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, 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 accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Pool Price Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $325.00 on Wednesday. Pool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $293.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.98. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.86. 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 (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Pool’s payout ratio is currently 42.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.