Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,911 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $7,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,053 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW opened at $334.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $353.97 and a 200-day moving average of $364.60. The company has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. Equities 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

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.