HCR Wealth Advisors Increases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 932 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,256,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,421,518,000 after acquiring an additional 187,478 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,063,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,291,563,000 after buying an additional 75,571 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $1,176,356,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,779,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $866,862,000 after buying an additional 116,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.41.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $304.84. 1,011,191 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,549,539. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $223.28 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $320.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.58.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Karl J. Jorgenrud sold 2,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.50, for a total transaction of $867,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,173,472.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,771 shares of company stock valued at $8,985,497 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.