Ascent Group LLC Buys 609 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 62.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $355.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.5 %

SHW traded down $1.78 on Tuesday, hitting $350.77. The company had a trading volume of 345,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,611,158. The company has a market cap of $88.49 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.16. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $232.06 and a 12-month high of $356.48. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.36.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

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.