Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 101 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $341.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.85 and a 200-day moving average of $365.62. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $86.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.