Unigestion Holding SA Makes New $816,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after buying an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after buying an additional 96,571 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,359,747,000. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $331.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $352.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $362.80. 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 company has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SHW. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.94.

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.