Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 224,990 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,373,215 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 224,990 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 2.49% of Whirlpool worth $157,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 99.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Whirlpool by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,917,000 after buying an additional 223,232 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at $343,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 99.4% in the fourth quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 8,125 shares of the company's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1,188.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the company's stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE WHR traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $76.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,473,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $88.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.23. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $73.72 and a 12 month high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.03. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.18%. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WHR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.00.

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.