The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 78.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,868 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $672,213,000 after purchasing an additional 985,520 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,665,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $587,047,000 after purchasing an additional 596,657 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,039,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,043,595,000 after purchasing an additional 553,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,334,918,000 after buying an additional 351,453 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $360.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $349.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $308.84 and a 12-month high of $379.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 31.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,101.15. This trade represents a 20.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SHW. Vertical Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.67.

Sherwin-Williams Profile

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.