Meeder Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 88.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,706 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,376 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,095,000 after purchasing an additional 14,851 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 79,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,733,000 after purchasing an additional 25,541 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 428,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,253,000 after purchasing an additional 19,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WHR traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $115.97. 704,153 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,328,949. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.48. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $98.40 and a 1 year high of $160.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.28 and a 200 day moving average of $115.04.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 2.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WHR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Loop Capital started coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a "d+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.17.

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.