Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Pool worth $9,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of POOL. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Pool by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pool by 70.6% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Pool by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 5,364 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Pool by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Pool by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 265,934 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $112,497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $350.22. The company had a trading volume of 240,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 386,658. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.71. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $295.95 and a 52-week high of $423.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.96.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.50. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 39.98% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 13.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Pool from $375.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Pool in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $385.70.

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.