Sunbelt Securities Inc. Cuts Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 37.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 580 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,536,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,919,000 after purchasing an additional 25,740 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Whirlpool by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,729,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,964,000 after buying an additional 26,630 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,425,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,589,000 after buying an additional 14,826 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 3,554.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,382,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,339,000 after buying an additional 1,344,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,169,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,354,000 after acquiring an additional 103,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Trading Up 1.3 %

Whirlpool stock opened at $102.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.78. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.00.

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.