Stevens Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 716 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% during the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 864,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $293,889,000 after acquiring an additional 278,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $342.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $354.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $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 debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. 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 dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down previously 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 issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by 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.