Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Raises Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,494 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $2,011,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the period. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment 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, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $351.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $341.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.36. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.