First Pacific Financial Has $1.09 Million Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

First Pacific Financial lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,639 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,801 shares during the period. Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,517,000. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,192,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $346.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $88.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $321.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.39. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $210.92 and a 12 month high of $347.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The business 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 business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, 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 valued at $10,340,237. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $352.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Argus raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.39.

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.