The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Acquired by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $480,291,000 after buying an additional 917,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,971,000 after acquiring an additional 898,143 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter valued at about $169,770,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 54.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,416,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $422,654,000 after purchasing an additional 496,326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SHW. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has 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 a consensus price target of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $388.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $272.34 and a 12 month high of $392.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $377.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.36.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.