The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 100.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 166,766 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $56,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other 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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $331.91 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.80.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

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.