Allstate Corp Takes $382,000 Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pool by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,443,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,514,950,000 after acquiring an additional 21,870 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Pool by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pool by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $362,196,000 after purchasing an additional 6,232 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Pool by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 636,007 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $216,840,000 after purchasing an additional 129,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Pool by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 419,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $143,167,000 after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Pool in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of POOL opened at $325.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.13. 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 one year low of $293.51 and a one year high of $402.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $338.44 and a 200 day moving average of $352.95.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The business had revenue of $987.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,105. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.