Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 24,492 Shares of Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in Pool Co. (NASDAQ:POOL) by 7.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 321,361 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 24,492 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Pool were worth $121,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pool by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,102,921 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $646,291,000 after buying an additional 33,955 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 1.3% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 854,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $262,678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,059 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Pool by 26.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 433,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,125,000 after acquiring an additional 90,951 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pool by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 430,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $132,244,000 after buying an additional 37,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pool by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,531,000 after purchasing an additional 12,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.99% of the company’s stock.

Pool Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ POOL traded down $2.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $361.89. 18,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 346,694. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.76. Pool Co. has a 52-week low of $293.51 and a 52-week high of $422.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The specialty retailer reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Pool had a return on equity of 31.89% and a net margin of 8.42%. Pool’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Pool Co. will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Pool from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Pool from $377.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Pool from $365.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Pool from $380.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Pool from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Pool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $369.11.

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.