Simmons Bank Makes New $256,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Simmons Bank purchased a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 821 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $432,737,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $202,793,000 after buying an additional 628,175 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 188.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 758,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,561,000 after buying an additional 495,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 49.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 985,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $251,456,000 after buying an additional 327,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $318.24. The company had a trading volume of 630,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,458. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $377.00 price target (down previously from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Northcoast Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value 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 approximately $9,187,743.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.