Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $309.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.00. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.94.

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.