Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires New Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,000. Sherwin-Williams comprises about 2.1% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Berenberg Bank raised shares of 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 note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $362.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.76. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

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.