Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SHW. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $331.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $352.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $362.71. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.