Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Buys 12,082 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,082 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,681 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.3 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $334.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $353.91 and its 200 day moving average is $365.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.