The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Slow Capital Inc.

Slow Capital Inc. cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 6,728 shares in the last quarter. Lee Financial Co acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW stock traded down $5.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $308.38. 1,440,738 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,593. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $221.76 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $328.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.15.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.94.

Sherwin-Williams 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.