First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 71,839 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 309,565 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,839 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.56% of Whirlpool worth $35,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,065,000 after purchasing an additional 659,014 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,468,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,719,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,917,000 after buying an additional 223,232 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,118,013 shares of the company's stock worth $242,470,000 after acquiring an additional 98,444 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WHR. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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 lowered Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.00.

Whirlpool Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Whirlpool stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.42. 1,583,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,050,698. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.21 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $75.03 and a fifty-two week high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5,000.00%.

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.