Franklin Resources Inc. Has $507.19 Million Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,492,044 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 79,322 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.59% of Sherwin-Williams worth $507,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,427,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $9,760,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 63.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 102,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $39,037,000 after buying an additional 39,809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.94.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded down $8.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $331.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,337,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,751,685. 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 cap of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $352.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $362.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

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.