Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 16,134 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.05% of Sherwin-Williams worth $46,738,000 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 the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,359,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 960,724 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $704,855,000 after buying an additional 728,798 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $230,829,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $926,590,000 after buying an additional 595,586 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $4.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $354.12. 1,449,829 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,829. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $342.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $355.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $88.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.