Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $11.77 Million Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 53.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,082 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after purchasing an additional 10,709 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,000,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $314,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 8.5% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 7.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,454 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $334.56 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $84.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams 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.