J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 931 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 1,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.5% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.2% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,403 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $418.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price target (up previously from $386.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $375.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $351.31 and its 200 day moving average is $327.67. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $232.06 and a 1-year high of $382.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio 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.