Hartford Investment Management Co. Reduces Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,630 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $5,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter worth $990,000. SMI Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter worth $4,106,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,044,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SHW. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $418.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $386.29.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $363.19. The company had a trading volume of 148,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,428. The stock has a market cap of $91.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.84, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.17. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $232.06 and a 12-month high of $392.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $371.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $334.45.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.49 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.