Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Position Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 30.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Whirlpool worth $13,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,513,000 after purchasing an additional 84,574 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,402,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,381,000 after acquiring an additional 269,976 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Whirlpool by 46.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,304,000 after acquiring an additional 312,729 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 84.4% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 532,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,418,000 after purchasing an additional 243,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,244 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE:WHR opened at $112.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.48 and a 200-day moving average of $99.19. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $125.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has an average 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 stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,000. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction 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 $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.