New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 1,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 438 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $339.77 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $353.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.80. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

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.