Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $1.46 Million Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 85.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 75,568 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,118 shares of the company's stock worth $633,775,000 after buying an additional 33,326 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,118,013 shares of the company's stock worth $242,470,000 after purchasing an additional 98,444 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,065,000 after buying an additional 659,014 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,373,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,205,000 after buying an additional 224,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 937,637 shares of the company's stock worth $107,374,000 after acquiring an additional 34,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE WHR traded up $2.13 on Friday, hitting $77.84. 1,233,213 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,054,572. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of -13.28 and a beta of 1.31. The business's fifty day moving average is $87.05 and its 200 day moving average is $103.86. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $73.72 and a 52 week high of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio is presently 5,000.00%.

Whirlpool Company 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.