Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 346 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the third 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 period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $432,737,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $202,793,000 after purchasing an additional 628,175 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 188.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 758,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,561,000 after purchasing an additional 495,668 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 49.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 985,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $251,456,000 after purchasing an additional 327,372 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.2 %

Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $3.63 during trading on Monday, hitting $314.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,533,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,809. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $326.85 and its 200 day moving average is $302.34. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SHW. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.39.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.