Sunbelt Securities Inc. Increases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,359,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,019,329,000 after purchasing an additional 960,724 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $704,855,000 after purchasing an additional 728,798 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $230,829,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $926,590,000 after purchasing an additional 595,586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE SHW opened at $352.78 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $342.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $354.87. The stock has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.