Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 664 The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,256,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,421,518,000 after purchasing an additional 187,478 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,063,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,291,563,000 after acquiring an additional 75,571 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,662,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $679,108,000 after acquiring an additional 28,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,524,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $643,846,000 after acquiring an additional 106,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.45. 1,820,261 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,484,751. The company’s 50 day moving average is $328.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $221.76 and a 52 week high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $377.00 price objective (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.39.

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.