1,994 Shares in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Bought by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WHR. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Whirlpool by 13.5% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 19,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 428,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,253,000 after buying an additional 19,036 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Whirlpool by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,536,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,919,000 after acquiring an additional 25,740 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 79,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,733,000 after acquiring an additional 25,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE:WHR traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.85. 892,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,487,003. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $159.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $93.91 and a 200 day moving average of $104.85.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WHR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.00.

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.