Suncoast Equity Management Acquires 273 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Suncoast Equity Management lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,099 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams comprises about 0.5% of Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $349.85 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $351.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 27.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.00.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.