Hills Bank & Trust Co Grows Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.39.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE SHW traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $320.43. 1,287,512 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,483,119. The business’s 50 day moving average is $326.46 and its 200-day moving average is $303.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.78. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $221.76 and a 12-month high of $348.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.49%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.