Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Has $7.82 Million Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. grew its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams comprises about 1.2% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $7,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 21,949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 5,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $334.38 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.59.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams 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.