CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 753 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $6.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $343.29. 1,159,274 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,602,016. The stock has a market cap of $86.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $351.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.20. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.79 dividend. 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 27.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 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. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $400.00.

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.