Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,849 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.07% of Sherwin-Williams worth $60,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after buying an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,261,000 after buying an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after acquiring an additional 187,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $500,402,000 after acquiring an additional 50,983 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of SHW opened at $345.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $353.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SHW. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.