Boston Financial Mangement LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 201,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams comprises 2.1% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $68,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $351.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $351.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.30.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.00.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.