Arizona State Retirement System Raises Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,129 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $23,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 720 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $336,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.0 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $362.54 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $351.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted 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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

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.