AMG National Trust Bank Invests $1.57 Million in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,574,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WHR. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,719,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after acquiring an additional 258,871 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 223,232 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 648.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 112,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,999,000 after purchasing an additional 97,152 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 95.6% in the third quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 151,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,174,000 after purchasing an additional 73,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WHR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Stock Up 1.2 %

WHR opened at $94.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.42 and a 200-day moving average of $108.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.21 and a beta of 1.43. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -119.45%.

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.