Wendell David Associates Inc. Reduces Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Wendell David Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $7,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% during the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. Pearl River Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,517,000. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $337.94 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $323.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.02. The company has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.53, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $220.22 and a 12-month high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

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.