Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 76,361 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 259.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,361 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $35,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,873,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $352.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.99. 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) last released 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 posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.