California Public Employees Retirement System Has $11.39 Million Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of Whirlpool worth $11,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WHR. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 190.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Whirlpool in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Whirlpool during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WHR opened at $94.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.95. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $91.90 and a 52 week high of $160.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $108.32 and a 200-day moving average of $112.06.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WHR shares. TheStreet raised shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.40.

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.