Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Lowers Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,946 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 160.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 190.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Trading Down 10.1 %

Shares of WHR opened at $94.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $109.41 and its 200 day moving average is $113.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.48. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.54 and a fifty-two week high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 36.24%. Whirlpool’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 96.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.60.

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.