Graham Capital Management L.P. Grows Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 288.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 1,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.3%

SHW traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $355.98. 1,390,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,765,840. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $341.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $355.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 29.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $395.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.