Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Increases Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 138.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,967 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,266,000 after buying an additional 24,394 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,261,000 after acquiring an additional 114,591 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $162,987,000 after acquiring an additional 478,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $356.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

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.