MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 402 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Whirlpool worth $3,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 6.4% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 2.0% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 2.2% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 5.1% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Whirlpool

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $110.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.71.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for 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 business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

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.