The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Acquired by GTS Securities LLC

GTS Securities LLC lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 44.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,445 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 135,786 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,158,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $306,000. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $4.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $354.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 792,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,758,647. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $88.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50 day moving average is $343.81 and its 200-day moving average is $354.28.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.