Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 12,402 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,402 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.34% of Whirlpool worth $22,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,095,000 after purchasing an additional 14,851 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 79,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,733,000 after acquiring an additional 25,541 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK purchased a new stake in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth $6,373,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 4.7% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 428,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,253,000 after acquiring an additional 19,036 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.40.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Whirlpool stock opened at $94.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $108.32 and its 200 day moving average is $112.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.52. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $91.90 and a twelve month high of $160.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.42%.

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.