Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 33.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,835 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $28,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SHW stock opened at $309.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.39.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.94.

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.