American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 129,318 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 431,402 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 129,318 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Sherwin-Williams worth $146,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,465,000 after purchasing an additional 6,911 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $871,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 23,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $347,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW opened at $334.38 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $364.61. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The stock 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 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 issued its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Citigroup reissued 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is 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.