Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $325.18 Million Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 956,603 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 48,404 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $325,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $331.91 on Friday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $352.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $362.90.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SHW. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.94.

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.