Vestcor Inc Has $1.48 Million Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $372,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,882 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 98,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,598,000 after purchasing an additional 50,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 157,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,544,000 after purchasing an additional 4,429 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $341.99 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $353.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 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 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 0.92%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

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.