Nomura Holdings Inc. Raises Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 1,322.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,221 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $17,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $1,359,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $359.58. The stock had a trading volume of 485,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,272. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.17. The stock has a market cap of $90.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.87%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.