Westpac Banking Corp Buys 6,230 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 266.1%, owning 8,571 shares valued at approximately $2.99 million by the end of the recent quarter.
• Sherwin-Williams' latest quarterly earnings report showed $3.38 EPS, which fell short of projections by $0.38, despite revenue matching expectations at $6.31 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 0.9% with a payout ratio of 31.35%.

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 266.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Iyo Bank Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Iyo Bank Ltd. now owns 15,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares during the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.7% during the first quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 24.9% during the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 21,130 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,378,000 after purchasing an additional 4,209 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 601.8% in the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 5,067 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 4,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.3% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 14,463 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,050,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SHW. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $391.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $385.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $296.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $388.60.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $1.39 on Friday, hitting $364.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,785,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,146. The company has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $308.84 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $346.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.91.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.76 by ($0.38). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 66.91% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CAO James P. Lang sold 860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.35, for a total value of $301,301.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,081.95. The trade was a 69.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.