OFI Invest Asset Management Takes $677,000 Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $352.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.99. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 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.