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

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,582 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $35,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. First Interstate Bank lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% in the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $349.85 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $351.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 27.11%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.