Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 2,739 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 232.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,361 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,149,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth approximately $131,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $357.65 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $346.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.11. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.00.

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.