Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Sells 540 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lessened its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WHR. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 33.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 9.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new position in Whirlpool during the second quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Investment House LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 44.3% during the second quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 5,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $123.37. 60,813 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,579. The stock has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.46. Whirlpool Co. has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $126.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.98.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is 69.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Whirlpool 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.