The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,556 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the fourth 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. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% during the third 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 period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $334.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $353.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $365.04.

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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.