Optimum Investment Advisors Sells 40 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Optimum Investment Advisors trimmed its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams 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 trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SHW. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock 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 fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $353.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $364.60.

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, beating 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.