Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Shares in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 14,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $377.00 price objective (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. KeyCorp upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.39.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock traded up $6.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.30. 2,027,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,681,363. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.05. The company has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.18. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $221.76 and a one year high of $348.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams 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.