Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,536,118 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,326 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.04% of Whirlpool worth $633,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 323.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR traded down $4.48 on Friday, hitting $81.64. 227,993 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,043,743. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $100.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.80. 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 one year low of $80.85 and a one year high of $135.49. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.44.

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Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.57%. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -119.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WHR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Whirlpool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.00.

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.