Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,948 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,176,356,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,737,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,197,952,000 after buying an additional 1,075,351 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $202,793,000 after acquiring an additional 628,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 8,986.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 534,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,592,000 after acquiring an additional 528,243 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $377.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.41.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $298.43 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $232.06 and a 52 week high of $348.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $305.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.44.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

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.