The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Bought by Elios Financial Group Inc.

Elios Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Elios Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.31.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $329.87 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. 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 fifty day moving average price of $347.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $360.67.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.