Parnassus Investments LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 274,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 69,435 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Pool were worth $93,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Pool by 22.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,260,313 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $474,886,000 after buying an additional 232,914 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 boosted its position in shares of Pool by 0.6% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $143,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Pool in the third quarter worth $152,249,000. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on POOL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $368.00.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $320.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.05. Pool Co. has a 12 month low of $293.51 and a 12 month high of $420.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $343.48 and its 200 day moving average is $355.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.08. Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.04 million. Research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 approximately $21,651,642. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.