Advisory Services Network LLC Buys 4,384 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after buying an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,359,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $339.76. 441,293 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,778,074. The stock's 50-day moving average is $347.01 and its 200-day moving average is $359.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams 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 owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $392.50.

Sherwin-Williams 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.