HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 1,344 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,034,607 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 1.88% of Whirlpool worth $118,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Whirlpool by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,118,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,470,000 after purchasing an additional 98,444 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Whirlpool by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Whirlpool by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 903,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,664,000 after purchasing an additional 11,766 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Whirlpool by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,917,000 after purchasing an additional 223,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Whirlpool by 1.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,099,000 after purchasing an additional 6,049 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WHR opened at $91.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $135.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.12 and its 200 day moving average is $108.62. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.54 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently -119.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

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.