O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 4,340 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $14,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after buying an additional 138,170 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $1,359,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $690,796,000 after buying an additional 451,505 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $339.77 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $353.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.80. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SHW. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.