SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 115.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,559 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $8,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter worth $3,145,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,789,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $315.97 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $301.58 and a 1-year high of $379.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $344.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 31.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.43.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.