The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stock Holdings Boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 451,505 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $690,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.7 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $339.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $353.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.91. 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 released its 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. As a group, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SHW shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average 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.