Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Position Lowered by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,670,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165,704 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 8.47% of Whirlpool worth $534,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 323.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 113.6% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE WHR opened at $94.43 on Tuesday. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $135.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of -16.11 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.43.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

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.