Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys 478,320 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 41,520.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 478,320 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $162,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 96,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,714,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 34,562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,749,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $359.62 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $90.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $350.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SHW shares. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.76.

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.