The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $7,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:SHW traded up $3.08 on Friday, hitting $358.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,509,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,742,634. 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 stock has a market cap of $89.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $344.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.88. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.