The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stock Position Lifted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 259.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 76,361 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $35,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $586,293,000 after buying an additional 187,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $500,402,000 after buying an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.31.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $365.99. The stock has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

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.