Kane Investment Management Inc. Invests $833,000 in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kane Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $341.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $347.01 and a 200 day moving average of $359.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 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 period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.31.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.