Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,854 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,169 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $13,834,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $284,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 90,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,345,000 after purchasing an additional 22,835 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.94.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $309.26 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $328.50 and a 200 day moving average of $298.39. The firm has a market cap of $78.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. 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 twelve month low of $221.76 and a twelve month high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

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.