Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Stock Position Lifted by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,513,000 after purchasing an additional 84,574 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 23.8% in the second quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,402,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,381,000 after buying an additional 269,976 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 46.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,304,000 after acquiring an additional 312,729 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 84.4% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 532,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,418,000 after acquiring an additional 243,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,244 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $326,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,000. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WHR stock opened at $112.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.63. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. 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.