Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Stake Lowered by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,051 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $13,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 1,010.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Whirlpool by 80.6% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE WHR opened at $112.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.19.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly 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. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,000. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Whirlpool 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.