Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 543 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pool by 3.6% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,845,204 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $657,077,000 after buying an additional 63,413 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Pool by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 865,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $308,156,000 after purchasing an additional 313,190 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Pool by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 777,707 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $276,941,000 after purchasing an additional 12,389 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pool by 22.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $225,885,000 after buying an additional 114,298 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pool by 10.9% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 606,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $216,038,000 after buying an additional 59,757 shares during the last quarter. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.80.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POOL traded down $7.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $362.59. 339,482 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,075. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $392.43 and a 200 day moving average of $374.24. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $307.77 and a 52-week high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.87 by ($0.02). Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Pool’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pool Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Pool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Pool’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pool 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.