1,702 Shares in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Acquired by Novem Group

Novem Group acquired a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after acquiring an additional 106,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,636,679,000 after acquiring an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased 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 worth $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $1,359,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.4%

SHW opened at $354.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $342.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.19. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 business posted $2.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SHW. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.