Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Reduces Position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WHR. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 323.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR stock opened at $93.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.29 and a 200 day moving average of $108.38. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $135.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.90 and a beta of 1.44. 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 (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS 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 period last year, the business earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is -119.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

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.