Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Purchased by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,099,000 after acquiring an additional 6,049 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,936 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 41.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,421,000 after buying an additional 12,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Whirlpool by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after buying an additional 15,752 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 212,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.78. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $84.18 and a 1-year high of $126.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.46.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 69.03%.

Insider Activity at Whirlpool

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Whirlpool Company Profile

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.