The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 677,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 37,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $230,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 1,287 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.8 %

SHW opened at $350.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $353.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $365.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.