Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 86,268 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,467,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 69,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,541,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $339.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $363.80. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.