Allianz SE Takes $152,000 Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 63.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 102,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $39,037,000 after buying an additional 39,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE SHW opened at $349.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.50 and a 200-day moving average of $363.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.