Lincoln National Corp Purchases 465 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,209 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Pool were worth $4,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Pool by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Pool by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Pool by 334.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,030 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Pool by 8.2% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 9,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Pool by 5.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pool

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total transaction of $441,100.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,422. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

NASDAQ:POOL traded up $6.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $370.77. The stock had a trading volume of 340,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,623. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.02. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.88. Pool Co. has a twelve month low of $307.77 and a twelve month high of $422.73.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 35.49% and a net margin of 9.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pool Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Pool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

POOL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Pool from $436.00 to $416.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital cut Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.80.

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.