New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,001 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,368 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Pool worth $7,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in POOL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $474,886,000 after purchasing an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 964,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $362,196,000 after acquiring an additional 6,232 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Pool by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 565,339 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $152,249,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Pool by 1.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 260,333 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $98,093,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $368.00.

Pool Stock Down 0.3 %

Pool stock opened at $347.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $343.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $355.57. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $293.51 and a twelve month high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. The firm 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, research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.55%.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In related 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 shares were 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 owns 62,577 shares in the company, valued at $21,651,642. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

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.