The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Position Boosted by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 956,603 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,404 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.38% of Sherwin-Williams worth $325,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Mizuho reduced 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $331.91 on Friday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.90. The stock has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Sherwin-Williams 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.