The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB decreased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 23.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,841 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $672,213,000 after buying an additional 985,520 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,665,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $587,047,000 after buying an additional 596,657 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 22.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 553,275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 351,453 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group set a $420.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,928,717.50. This represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $312.28 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $308.84 and a 52-week high of $379.65. The company has a market capitalization of $77.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $351.13 and a 200 day moving average of $343.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.16%.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.