Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Has $9.54 Million Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $9,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake 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 worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SHW opened at $344.54 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $86.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $351.04 and its 200-day moving average is $365.56.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 posted $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on SHW shares. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.59.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.