Czech National Bank Purchases 1,899 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Czech National Bank lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $19,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SHW. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter worth $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $672,213,000 after acquiring an additional 985,520 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 55.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,665,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $587,047,000 after acquiring an additional 596,657 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 424.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 547,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $177,433,000 after acquiring an additional 443,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,334,918,000 after acquiring an additional 351,453 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. UBS Group set a $420.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.43.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of SHW opened at $319.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $346.43 and a 200 day moving average of $341.37. The company has a market cap of $79.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $301.58 and a 52-week high of $379.65.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 31.16%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.