Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Increases Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $362.54 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $351.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.