Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,628 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,914 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $16,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $355.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.5 %

SHW stock opened at $350.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $88.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $307.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.97. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $232.06 and a 12 month high of $351.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

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.