KBC Group NV Reduces Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,419 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,513,000 after acquiring an additional 84,574 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 23.8% in the second quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,402,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,381,000 after purchasing an additional 269,976 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 46.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,304,000 after buying an additional 312,729 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 84.4% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 532,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,418,000 after buying an additional 243,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,248,000 after buying an additional 8,244 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR stock opened at $109.79 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.01 and its 200 day moving average is $99.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $125.68.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

Insider Activity at Whirlpool

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,000. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.