DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 545 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 23.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 545 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WHR. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 160.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in Whirlpool during the third quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 716.7% during the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $111.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.77. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $98.40 and a fifty-two week high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.32. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. Whirlpool’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.60.

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.