O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 6,179 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 24.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,869 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 6,179 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 6.9 %

NYSE SHW traded up $22.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $344.50. 4,151,226 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,611,173. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $305.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.73. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $232.06 and a 12-month high of $348.37. The firm has a market cap of $87.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SHW. KeyCorp raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.65.

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.