NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 4,488 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,488 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $10,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 14.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,094,000 after buying an additional 258,871 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,421,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 76,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,208,000 after buying an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,605,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 253.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Whirlpool Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WHR traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.63. The company had a trading volume of 67,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,142,114. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $84.18 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.75 dividend. 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 6.33%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool 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.