Freedom Investment Management Inc. Makes New $234,000 Investment in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Interstate Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% in the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $397.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $272.34 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $378.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $347.31. The firm has a market cap of $100.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

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.