Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 14,826 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,425,552 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,826 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $173,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Whirlpool by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,536,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,919,000 after acquiring an additional 25,740 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 59.7% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,473,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,804,000 after purchasing an additional 924,128 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Whirlpool by 38.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,954,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,296,000 after buying an additional 541,219 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 3,554.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,382,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,339,000 after buying an additional 1,344,601 shares during the period. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,065,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,408,000 after buying an additional 17,128 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WHR shares. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.40.

Whirlpool Stock Up 0.2 %

WHR opened at $95.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $91.90 and a one year high of $160.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.76.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.36%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is presently 96.42%.

Whirlpool Company Profile

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.