Generali Investments Management Co LLC Buys Shares of 546 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.3 %

SHW opened at $334.56 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $353.91 and its 200-day moving average is $365.04. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-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. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.