Baldwin Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,359,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,019,329,000 after purchasing an additional 960,724 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $704,855,000 after purchasing an additional 728,798 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $230,829,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $926,590,000 after buying an additional 595,586 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW opened at $359.74 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $90.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. Sherwin-Williams’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.87%.

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.