Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $151.64 Million Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 446,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Sherwin-Williams worth $151,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after acquiring an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $331.91 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $352.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $362.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.94.

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.