Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Acquires Shares of 5,000 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,700,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SHW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 238 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,556,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 12,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded down $5.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $344.54. 2,871,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,656,506. The stock has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $351.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $365.24. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 27.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $400.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.