AIA Group Ltd Boosts Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 2,810 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 44,853.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 6,728 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $309.06. 734,167 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $221.76 and a 52-week high of $348.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $328.69 and its 200-day moving average is $296.92.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SHW shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.94.

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.