Ceera Investments LLC Trims Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Ceera Investments LLC trimmed its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WHR. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 3.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Whirlpool by 13.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 43,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Whirlpool during the first quarter valued at approximately $265,000. FIFTHDELTA Ltd purchased a new position in Whirlpool during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,986,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Whirlpool by 1,707.5% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 12,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 11,457 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.50.

Whirlpool Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of WHR opened at $112.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.22. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

Insider Transactions at Whirlpool

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $326,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,000. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

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.