Polymer Capital Management US LLC Buys Shares of 8,608 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,926,000. Sherwin-Williams accounts for about 0.8% of Polymer Capital Management US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SHW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $1,359,747,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $162,987,000 after buying an additional 478,320 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $690,796,000 after buying an additional 451,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 653,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $219,945,000 after acquiring an additional 289,450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related 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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on 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 given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $331.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. 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 twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $362.71.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.