KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 109,282 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 109,282 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,148,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $162,987,000 after buying an additional 478,320 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 864,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $293,889,000 after buying an additional 278,242 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $334.38 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $84.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $353.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.60. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on 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. increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

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.