D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $344.54 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. 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 stock has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $351.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.24.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

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.