Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 24,348 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR – Get Rating) by 17.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,348 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $15,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 21.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,905,000 after buying an additional 558,391 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 2.7% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,097,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,781,000 after purchasing an additional 54,500 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 2.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,880,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,467,000 after purchasing an additional 53,869 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 4.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,541,000 after purchasing an additional 48,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.5% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Co now owns 1,048,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,363,000 after purchasing an additional 15,020 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WHR. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on Whirlpool from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Whirlpool from $145.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $144.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR stock opened at $128.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $144.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.28. Whirlpool Co. has a 52-week low of $124.43 and a 52-week high of $199.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.60. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 7.71% and a positive return on equity of 27.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 16.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is -24.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher S. Conley sold 1,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.20, for a total transaction of $225,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Company Profile

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Whirlpool Corp. engages in the manufacturing and marketing of home appliances. Its products include home laundry appliances, refrigerators and freezers, cooking appliances, home dishwashers, and room air-conditioning equipment, mixers, and portable household appliances. The firm’s brands include Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, JennAir, and Indesit.