BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,383 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,888 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Whirlpool worth $3,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,094,000 after acquiring an additional 258,871 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 41.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company's stock worth $4,421,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 76,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,208,000 after purchasing an additional 7,405 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Whirlpool during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,605,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 253.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WHR traded up $4.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $112.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 903,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.68 and a 200-day moving average of $100.98. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $125.68.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

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.