Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 232.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,359,747,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,717.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,636,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $571,381,000 after buying an additional 1,632,391 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 960,724 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,829,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $357.65 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $346.06 and a 200-day moving average of $353.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $89.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.87%.

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.

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