Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,014 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 24,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,851,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Whirlpool by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,574,000. Finally, LHM Inc. grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 42,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after buying an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WHR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.8 %

WHR opened at $93.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $107.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.14. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of -15.94 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -119.45%.

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.