Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 258,871 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 3.66% of Whirlpool worth $216,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 46.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. RWWM Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the second quarter worth about $30,174,000. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 23.8% during 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 240.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 375,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,125,000 after purchasing an additional 265,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 84.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 532,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,418,000 after purchasing an additional 243,743 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Whirlpool Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WHR stock opened at $112.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $105.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released 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. The business 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%. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

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.