Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $1.68 Million Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,265 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pool were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Pool by 2,300.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 471.4% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Pool during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pool

In related news, SVP Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $385,245.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,105. The trade was a 11.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL opened at $295.83 on Friday. Pool Co. has a 1 year low of $284.28 and a 1 year high of $395.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.31.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The specialty retailer reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.10). Pool had a net margin of 8.18% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Pool Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Pool’s payout ratio is 46.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on POOL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Pool in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $322.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $300.00 price objective on Pool in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Pool from $325.00 to $310.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $336.22.

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.