Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 1,099 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $42,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,359,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,019,329,000 after purchasing an additional 960,724 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $704,855,000 after buying an additional 728,798 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $230,829,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $926,590,000 after acquiring an additional 595,586 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $7.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $352.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,158,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,772. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $342.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.64. The company has a market capitalization of $88.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. 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.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. The company's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 29.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.