B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $32.39 Million Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 63.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,456 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,051 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $32,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.8 %

SHW traded down $5.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $334.68. 2,148,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,738,028. 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 fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $352.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $363.23. The stock has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Mizuho cut 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut 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. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.94.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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.