RWWM Inc. Acquires 16,688 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

RWWM Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,796 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,688 shares during the period. Whirlpool makes up 2.3% of RWWM Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. RWWM Inc. owned 0.56% of Whirlpool worth $28,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 113.6% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 40.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WHR traded up $2.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,581,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,037,848. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $73.72 and a 52 week high of $135.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.24.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.76%. Whirlpool's payout ratio is 5,000.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Whirlpool from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.25.

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.