Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 14,200 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,429,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after buying an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $498,336,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,180,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,229,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,586 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $432,737,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 263.7% during the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 921,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $235,098,000 after purchasing an additional 668,305 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group raised Sherwin-Williams from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Argus raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $326.50.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE SHW traded down $1.67 on Friday, reaching $318.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,280,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $221.76 and a 1 year high of $348.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $328.49 and a 200-day moving average of $296.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Sherwin-Williams's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.