Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,325 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Whirlpool by 81.8% during the fourth quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. LMG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Whirlpool by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Whirlpool by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WHR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.60.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE:WHR opened at $108.07 on Friday. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $98.40 and a 1-year high of $160.62. The stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 1.48. 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 50-day moving average of $110.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.60.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 80.37%.

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.