CENTRAL TRUST Co Reduces Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 834 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 141,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,729,000 after acquiring an additional 23,174 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 27,317 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,117,000 after acquiring an additional 16,908 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Paradigm Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth about $373,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 8,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, CEO John G. Morikis bought 2,207 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $226.70 per share, with a total value of $500,326.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,344 shares in the company, valued at $52,445,684.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John G. Morikis purchased 2,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $226.70 per share, for a total transaction of $500,326.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,445,684.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.76, for a total transaction of $607,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,756,145.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SHW. Zelman & Associates lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $270.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of SHW opened at $216.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.07. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $195.24 and a 1 year high of $285.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.60.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.26 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 90.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 27th were issued a $0.605 dividend. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.35%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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The Sherwin-Williams Co engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint and coatings. It operates through the following segments: America Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coating Group. The America Group segment manages the exclusive outlets for Sherwin-Williams branded paints, stains, supplies, equipment, and floor coverings.