Port Capital LLC Increases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Port Capital LLC grew its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the quarter. Port Capital LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $29,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after acquiring an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during 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 period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,359,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Five research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:SHW opened at $350.99 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $341.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.22. The firm has a market cap of $87.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. Sherwin-Williams's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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