Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 258,871 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $216,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 89.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 39,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after acquiring an additional 18,514 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the first quarter worth approximately $92,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $326,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,000. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WHR opened at $112.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.75.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.03%.

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.