Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys Shares of 16,638 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,772,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $1,176,356,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $432,737,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,197,952,000 after buying an additional 1,075,351 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $202,793,000 after buying an additional 628,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8,986.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 534,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,592,000 after purchasing an additional 528,243 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE SHW traded up $6.39 on Wednesday, hitting $305.30. 1,241,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,575,385. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $304.03 and a 200 day moving average of $312.98. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $232.06 and a twelve month high of $348.37. The company has a market capitalization of $77.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $377.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.65.

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.