T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,951,070 Shares of Pool Corporation $POOL

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) by 3,831.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,001,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,951,070 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 5.37% of Pool worth $457,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Pool by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 837,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,614,000 after buying an additional 148,519 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Pool by 2,157.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 165,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,967,000 after acquiring an additional 158,626 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Pool during the fourth quarter worth about $298,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Pool by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Pool by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,150 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 98.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Pool

Here are the key news stories impacting Pool this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seasonal pool-related coverage, including advice on prepping lawns for pool season, may keep consumer interest in swimming pool maintenance and backyard spending elevated heading into summer. How To Prep Your Lawn For Pool Season So It Doesn’t Die
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, algae treatment, and “pool” jokes are unrelated to Pool Corporation’s business and are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the company’s results. Trump Admin Moves to Dismiss Reflecting Pool Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage about the Reflecting Pool’s algae problems and cleanup efforts is largely a public-interest story, not a direct driver for Pool Corporation’s earnings or guidance. Reflecting Pool woes: Trump administration turns to hydrogen peroxide in latest bid to beat back algae
• Negative Sentiment: There is no clear company-specific catalyst in the article set for Pool Corporation, so the stock’s move appears to be driven more by broader market/technical factors than by new fundamentals. Pool Corporation quote page

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

POOL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Pool from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $246.00 target price on shares of Pool in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Pool from $230.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Pool from $229.00 to $226.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Pool from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.38.

Pool Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of POOL opened at $198.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.70. Pool Corporation has a one year low of $172.68 and a one year high of $345.00. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Pool had a net margin of 7.57% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Pool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.870-11.170 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pool Corporation will post 11.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Pool’s payout ratio is 47.84%.

Pool announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $600.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Pool news, Director De La Mesa Manuel J. Perez bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $175.95 per share, for a total transaction of $1,759,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,057,002.60. This trade represents a 33.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John E. Stokely bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $193.06 per share, with a total value of $193,060.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,133,363.80. This trade represents a 6.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 21,989 shares of company stock worth $4,042,747 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

About Pool

Pool Corporation is a leading wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related outdoor living products. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company serves a diverse customer base that includes service professionals, independent retailers, high-volume builders, and national retail chains. Pool Corporation’s extensive branch network enables it to maintain strong local customer relationships while leveraging its scale to source products efficiently from manufacturers around the world.

The company’s product portfolio spans pool and spa chemicals, water treatment equipment, pumps, filters, heaters, automation and control systems, liners, safety covers, and cleaning accessories.