Wedbush Securities Inc. Acquires 650 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,572 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.5% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meixler Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. now owns 695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.68.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $371.85 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $342.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.70. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $232.06 and a 12 month high of $372.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $93.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

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.