Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $871,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,563 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $450,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 83,803 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,985,000 after buying an additional 5,201 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $342.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $354.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $364.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. 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 other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.