National Pension Service Has $130.31 Million Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 417,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $130,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $32,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,533.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.02. 933,215 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,314. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.91. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The firm has a market cap of $80.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $377.00 price target (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams 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.