EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 358.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,952 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 102.3% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $384.96 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $379.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $349.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.19. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on SHW. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.