Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 137,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,134 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $46,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 96,571 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after buying an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $363.22 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

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.