Optas LLC Purchases 177 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

by · The Markets Daily

Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW – Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% during the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the period. Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $4,517,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $403,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.39.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SHW

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $332.04. 388,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,980. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $221.76 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $294.08. The firm has a market cap of $84.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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