Ellsworth Advisors LLC Buys 36 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 44,853.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 6,728 shares during the last quarter. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a 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 $320.39.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.1 %

Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $347.33. 995,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,283,059. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $322.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.15. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $211.91 and a 52-week high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Sherwin-Williams 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.