Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 296 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter valued at $47,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,154.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter valued at $57,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW traded up $0.82 on Friday, hitting $358.73. 1,358,595 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,622,454. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $321.30. The firm has a market cap of $90.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.16. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $232.06 and a one year high of $360.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $338.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.00.

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.