Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 2,745 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at $37,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Argus boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karl J. Jorgenrud sold 2,690 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.50, for a total value of $867,525.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,173,472.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.1 %

SHW traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $347.33. 937,135 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,430,159. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $322.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $211.91 and a 52 week high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

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.