Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 6,582 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,582 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $35,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 9,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,230,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 11,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW traded down $5.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $344.54. 2,871,320 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,656,506. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $351.44 and its 200 day moving average is $365.20. 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 firm has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value 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 approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.