Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,765 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 808 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Sherwin-Williams worth $55,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SHW. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Karl J. Jorgenrud sold 2,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.50, for a total value of $867,525.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,173,472.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:SHW traded up $6.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,027,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,681,363. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $327.22 and a 200-day moving average of $300.64. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $221.76 and a 52-week high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.