Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Raises Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,891 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW opened at $341.20 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $85.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $364.35.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.