Fred Alger Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) by 55,149.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,688 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $17,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Standard Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $270.00 to $251.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $267.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $283.00 to $231.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of SHW opened at $216.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $55.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $232.28 and a 200 day moving average of $230.70. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $195.24 and a 52-week high of $285.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.26 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 90.04% and a net margin of 9.12%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.605 per share. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total transaction of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,145.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John G. Morikis purchased 2,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $226.70 per share, for a total transaction of $500,326.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 231,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,445,684.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total value of $607,090.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,145.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.