Empower Advisory Group LLC Boosts Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 312,658 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 8,329 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.12% of Sherwin-Williams worth $119,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $480,291,000 after buying an additional 917,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $311,971,000 after purchasing an additional 898,143 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $277,361,000 after buying an additional 724,907 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at $169,770,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 54.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,416,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $422,654,000 after acquiring an additional 496,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW traded up $3.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $386.85. The stock had a trading volume of 572,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $258.52 and a 12 month high of $392.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average is $375.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.53.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The company's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $396.47.

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.