Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Increases Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,945 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $23,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $422,000. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $839,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $344.54 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.38.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.59.

Sherwin-Williams 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.