Community Trust & Investment Co. Grows Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 297.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,701 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $12,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,620 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $331.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,443,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,026. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $292.27 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $348.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.21.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 71.86% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.67.

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.