E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Buys 72 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $162,987,000 after acquiring an additional 478,320 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1,717.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 326,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,769,000 after acquiring an additional 308,921 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after acquiring an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $352.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.99. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’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 value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.