The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 782,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 13,831 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.32% of Sherwin-Williams worth $270,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 86 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 98 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 129.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of SHW stock opened at $356.98 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $308.84 and a 1-year high of $379.65. The firm has a market cap of $88.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,101.15. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company set a $410.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.67.

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.