Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,006 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,824 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Whirlpool worth $11,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought 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 have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE WHR opened at $94.43 on Tuesday. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $84.18 and a 1-year high of $135.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.70 and a 200-day moving average of $108.43. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of -16.11 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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.