Wolverine Asset Management LLC Invests $4.37 Million in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $4,367,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $28,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $377.00 price objective (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday. 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 note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,189,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,454,776. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $221.76 and a one year high of $348.37. The firm has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

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.