OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Invests $9.42 Million in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $9,416,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $17,078,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 153.6% during the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 7,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 4,347 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 737 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,843 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 336.1% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,252,000 after acquiring an additional 5,106 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.5%

Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $1.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $363.22. 892,926 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,274. 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 company has a market cap of $91.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $341.42 and a 200-day moving average of $355.21. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.