Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Decreases Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 605,806 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,248 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of Sherwin-Williams worth $188,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 44,853.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 6,728 shares in the last quarter. Lee Financial Co bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $318.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $80.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $221.76 and a 1 year high of $348.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $328.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.04.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.50.

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.