Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Reduces Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lessened its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $14,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Whirlpool by 323.1% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 113.6% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Down 3.7 %

WHR opened at $89.58 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $103.65 and its 200 day moving average is $108.15. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $135.49. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.29 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.