The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $342.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $86.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $354.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.49. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SHW. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.