Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 958 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $2,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,513,000 after buying an additional 84,574 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 14.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,094,000 after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC grew its stake in shares of 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. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,936 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $120.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.46. Whirlpool Co. has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $126.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $110.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.50.

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.