The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Purchased by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 95.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 417,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 203,812 shares during the period. Axa S.A. owned about 0.17% of Sherwin-Williams worth $141,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,011,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SHW stock opened at $359.74 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $342.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $356.33. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SHW. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

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.