V Square Quantitative Management LLC Acquires New Shares in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $652,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,637,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,838,532,000 after purchasing an additional 309,153 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,334,918,000 after purchasing an additional 351,453 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,432,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,188,698,000 after purchasing an additional 11,560 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,052,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,056,811,000 after purchasing an additional 12,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,881,091 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $997,607,000 after acquiring an additional 923,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SHW shares. Vertical Research raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. The trade was a 20.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $335.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $340.01 and its 200-day moving average is $338.76. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $301.58 and a 52-week high of $379.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $83.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.27.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 31.16%.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.