Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $7.90 Million in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 23,245 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,902,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after buying an additional 187,724 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $500,402,000 after buying an additional 50,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE SHW opened at $342.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $353.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.49.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $1.81 EPS. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of 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 price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

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.