The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Purchased by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC lifted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $498,336,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,180,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,229,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,586 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $432,737,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 263.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Northcoast Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $352.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.50.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW traded down $4.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $309.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 254,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,544. The stock has a market cap of $78.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37. The company’s 50-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.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

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

About Sherwin-Williams

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.