Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 86,268 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.71% of Sherwin-Williams worth $1,467,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,359,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $690,796,000 after purchasing an additional 451,505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of SHW opened at $339.77 on Monday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $353.59 and its 200-day moving average is $363.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 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 firm posted $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. 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%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.