Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 95,414 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 446,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Sherwin-Williams worth $151,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 96,571 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $1,359,747,000. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $393.31.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded down $6.34 on Thursday, hitting $329.91. 1,127,164 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,164. The firm's 50 day moving average is $348.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $361.03. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.