Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 37.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 119,047 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $69,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,435,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,685,876,000 after acquiring an additional 179,274 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,197,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,351 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $1,176,356,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,779,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $866,862,000 after buying an additional 116,647 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,536,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $791,008,000 after buying an additional 56,161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded down $3.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $321.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,537,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $304.89 and its 200 day moving average is $313.43. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $232.06 and a twelve month high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.65.

Sherwin-Williams 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.