Lincoln National Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Pool by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 49,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,877 shares in the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners boosted its position in Pool by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners now owns 189,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $75,573,000 after acquiring an additional 33,402 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Pool by 30,047.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 183,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,322,000 after acquiring an additional 183,288 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pool by 394.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pool during the 4th quarter worth $4,329,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on POOL shares. Loop Capital downgraded Pool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Oppenheimer dropped 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, April 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Pool from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Pool from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.80.

Pool Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of POOL stock traded up $6.12 on Monday, hitting $370.77. The stock had a trading volume of 340,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 336,623. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $390.24 and its 200-day moving average is $375.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.01. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $307.77 and a 52-week high of $422.73. 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 (NASDAQ:POOL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Pool had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 35.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Pool Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Pool Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from Pool’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. Pool’s payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Jennifer M. Neil sold 1,100 shares of Pool stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.00, for a total value of $441,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,422. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Pool Company 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.