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

Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 81,672 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $114,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 102.3% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $388.30 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $272.34 and a 52 week high of $392.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $377.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $344.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.