First Pacific Financial Cuts Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

First Pacific Financial lowered its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,484 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,256,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,421,518,000 after purchasing an additional 187,478 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,382,442 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,756,746,000 after buying an additional 211,790 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,180,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,229,386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,179,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $936,902,000 after purchasing an additional 73,605 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $346.95 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $210.92 and a fifty-two week high of $347.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $321.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.715 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $330.00 to $378.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.39.

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.