Enhancing Capital LLC Makes New $499,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,468 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $7,902,000. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $342.73 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $353.95 and a 200 day moving average of $365.49. 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 company has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.