AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,356 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. ELCO Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Pool by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Pool by 16.1% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,109,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Pool by 58.7% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 7,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,259,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Pool by 143.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 20,584 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,326,000 after buying an additional 12,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Pool by 3.6% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 34,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,976,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of Pool stock opened at $362.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The specialty retailer reported $4.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Pool had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 32.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Pool from $305.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Pool from $356.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $354.44.

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.