Kerusso Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 75.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams comprises approximately 2.2% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $17,556,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 69.4% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 81.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Barclays raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW traded down $2.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $349.85. 2,041,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,690. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $351.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.30. The company has a market cap of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 27.11%.

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.