ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires New Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,636,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 135.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 238 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% in 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 last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $696,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,281,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 31,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,912,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded down $1.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $351.39. 2,042,652 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,558. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $365.40. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 27.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $400.00.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.