Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Increases Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,935 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,625 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,999 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 37,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,292,000 after buying an additional 7,193 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Vertical Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $383.23.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This represents a 35.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $317.69 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $301.58 and a 52-week high of $379.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.42. The company has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.27.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 31.16%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.