ProShare Advisors LLC Has $240.07 Million Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 706,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,638 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $240,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,509 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,521 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 32,476 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,040,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,163,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 64,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $22,135,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,322.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 51,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,631,000 after purchasing an additional 48,221 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $350.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $341.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.22. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.87%.

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.