Cullen Investment Group LTD. Makes New $456,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. FMR LLC increased its position 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth approximately $498,336,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position 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 period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth approximately $432,737,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $235,098,000 after buying an additional 668,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.3 %

SHW opened at $313.97 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $328.68 and its two-hundred day moving average 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 $79.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $221.76 and a one year high of $348.37.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.50.

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.