SageOak Financial LLC Buys Shares of 7,305 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

SageOak Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,483,000. Sherwin-Williams comprises approximately 2.3% of SageOak Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $500,402,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $335.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

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.