First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SHW. UBS Group upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $377.00 target price (down from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.39.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams 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 transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $303.41. 185,489 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,464,570. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $327.54 and a 200 day moving average of $300.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.