FIL Ltd Purchases 52,227 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 174,620 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 52,227 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $59,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW opened at $336.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $348.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $361.03. The stock has a market cap of $84.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.31.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.