The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Acquired by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA raised its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 357.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 8,568 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Threadgill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 99.2% in the 1st quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 14,295 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,992,000 after buying an additional 7,118 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 232.7% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 39.0% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of SHW stock traded up $4.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $362.71. 1,557,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,742,171. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $345.29 and its 200-day moving average is $353.27. 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 company has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 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.