Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $1.22 Million Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Aviva PLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 166,766 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,689,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,636,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 956,603 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $325,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48,404 shares during the period. Bornite Capital Management LP grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 50,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,996,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 147,670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $50,198,000 after buying an additional 20,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s 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 owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.94.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $331.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $352.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $362.71. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42.

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, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Analysts expect 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 paid 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 0.95%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 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.