Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHW. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.39.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $3.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $314.93. 1,533,901 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,487,809. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.34. The firm has a market cap of $79.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

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.