ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 706,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 139,638 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Sherwin-Williams worth $240,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.7%

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $2.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $359.61. The stock had a trading volume of 609,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,495. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $341.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.17. The stock has a market cap of $90.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08, a P/E/G 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Sherwin-Williams's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.