Capital Analysts LLC Acquires 145 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,384,160,000 after buying an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $498,336,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,180,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,229,386,000 after buying an additional 1,747,586 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $432,737,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 263.7% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 921,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $235,098,000 after purchasing an additional 668,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $4.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $309.78. 254,664 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,384,544. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $328.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $296.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $78.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coating, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. It operates through three segments: Paint Stores Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group.