Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,725 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $17,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.1 %

SHW stock opened at $363.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $352.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $365.86. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.