The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Acquired by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,748 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services' holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 172,500.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,335 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,212,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 53,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $18,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 439,208 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $153,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their target price on 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 cut their target price on 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, Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:SHW traded down $1.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $360.26. The company had a trading volume of 490,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,812. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.34. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The company 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 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 last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. 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.