The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Purchased by GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 186,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams makes up approximately 7.3% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $63,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $349.35 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.63. 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 capitalization of $87.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.