First City Capital Management Inc. Sells 405 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

First City Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WHR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 46.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,304,000 after purchasing an additional 312,729 shares during the period. RWWM Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the second quarter valued at $30,174,000. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in Whirlpool by 23.8% in the 2nd 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 stake 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 worth $38,125,000 after acquiring an additional 265,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 84.4% during the second 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WHR opened at $111.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.48 and a 200 day moving average of $99.26. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $84.18 and a 1-year high of $125.68.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 69.03%.

Insider Transactions at Whirlpool

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

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.