Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. decreased its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,788 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WHR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,536,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,919,000 after purchasing an additional 25,740 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,473,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,804,000 after acquiring an additional 924,128 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,954,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,296,000 after acquiring an additional 541,219 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,410,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,614,000 after acquiring an additional 46,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 3,554.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,382,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,601 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR opened at $105.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.13. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $98.40 and a one year high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 38.67%. Whirlpool’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.60.

About Whirlpool

Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company's principal products include refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, and refrigerator water filters; laundry appliances, and commercial laundry products and related laundry accessories; cooking and other small domestic appliances; and dishwasher appliances and related accessories, as well as mixers.