Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 688 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $16,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $362.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $351.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.65. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.31.

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.