Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 4,205 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,508 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Whirlpool worth $4,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WHR. Cutler Group LLC CA acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 96.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 204 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 526.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 90.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WHR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $118.00 to $121.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $90.00 to $87.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $141.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.34 and a 200-day moving average of $138.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.53. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $163.15.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.45. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 8.13% and a positive return on equity of 29.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is -24.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc R. Bitzer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.18, for a total value of $2,863,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,842,313.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.12, for a total transaction of $858,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,834,143.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc R. Bitzer sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.18, for a total transaction of $2,863,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,842,313.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Company Profile

Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in 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.