Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 99.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,709 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,328 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at about $482,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WHR has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $102.70 on Friday. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.69. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -119.45%.

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.