John Morikis, CEO at Sherwin Williams (SHW) recently added 2,207 shares. The buy increased his holdings by just over 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $500,327.
The CEO was the last buyer of shares at the company nearly a year ago, with a 2,000 share pickup for about $519,000. One division president sold shares in the past year. Going back further, a number of company executives were sellers of the stock.
Overall, insiders own about 8.5 percent of the paint manufacturer and retailer.
Shares have been knocked down about 20 percent in the past year, even with revenues up nearly 10 percent and earnings up 27 percent. That’s taken shares from 48 times earnings to about 21 times earnings today.
Action to take: As a leading producer of paint and holding a strong brand of products, shares are reasonably valued for long-term investors. Shares yield about 1.1 percent at today’s prices, and the stock has a low payout ratio with room for future growth.
For traders, shares are likely to recover from the loss over the last year, and move back to trading at more of a premium to the markets. The June $270 calls, last going for about $3.70, offer mid-double-digit returns in the coming months on such a move higher.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.