Suncoast Equity Management Increases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Suncoast Equity Management increased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams comprises 0.5% of Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after acquiring an additional 106,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after acquiring an additional 96,571 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.4%

SHW stock opened at $332.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $292.27 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.76. The stock has a market cap of $83.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.21.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 71.86%. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $405.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.67.

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.