Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 138,170 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.67% of Sherwin-Williams worth $7,422,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHW. FMR LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $162,987,000 after purchasing an additional 478,320 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 864,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $293,889,000 after purchasing an additional 278,242 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $5.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $339.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,061. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $353.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.91. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SHW. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.13.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.