HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 191 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,098 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $1,359,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $162,987,000 after purchasing an additional 478,320 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $690,796,000 after purchasing an additional 451,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $219,945,000 after purchasing an additional 289,450 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $339.77 on Monday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $353.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.80.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released 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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SHW. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued 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 upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.