FourThought Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

FourThought Financial LLC trimmed its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 402 shares during the period. FourThought Financial LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SHW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 76.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, CEO John G. Morikis purchased 2,207 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $52,445,684.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,750 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,145.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John G. Morikis bought 2,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $226.70 per share, for a total transaction of $500,326.90. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 231,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,445,684.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW opened at $220.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $231.58 and its 200 day moving average is $230.53. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $195.24 and a 12-month high of $285.00.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.26 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 90.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 24th. This represents a $2.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $267.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $270.00 to $251.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $245.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.39.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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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.