Madison Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $823,000 Investment in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 6,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 13,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 335.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Stock Up 2.8 %

WHR stock opened at $91.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of -15.54 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $84.18 and a 1-year high of $135.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.40.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.