Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 6,582 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,582 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $35,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $349.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. 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 50 day moving average price of $351.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.20. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.11%.

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.