Flputnam Investment Management Co. Buys 3,464 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,465 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Whirlpool by 14.7% in the third 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 223,232 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 648.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 112,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,999,000 after acquiring an additional 97,152 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 95.6% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 151,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,174,000 after acquiring an additional 73,865 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,275,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.8 %

WHR stock opened at $101.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.39 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.63 and a 200-day moving average of $108.95. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -119.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

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.