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

Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,435 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.72% of Pool worth $93,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Pool by 17.8% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 1,853 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Pool in the third quarter worth $1,129,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pool by 4.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $11,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in Pool by 1.3% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 50,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,152,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 62,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,651,642. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on POOL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $368.00.

Pool Price Performance

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

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $987.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $961.04 million. Equities research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

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

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.