First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Takes $359,000 Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $354.67. 317,591 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,714,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $292.27 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The business's 50 day moving average is $347.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.64. 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 - 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 company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.87%.

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.