Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 27,427 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 541,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 27,427 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams accounts for about 1.7% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned 0.21% of Sherwin-Williams worth $206,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,620,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,509,601,000 after buying an additional 184,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,302,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $799,595,000 after acquiring an additional 219,149 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,538,000 after acquiring an additional 53,487 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $480,291,000 after acquiring an additional 917,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,524,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $454,917,000 after purchasing an additional 238,031 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SHW. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.47.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

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

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded up $2.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $386.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,209,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,559,190. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $374.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $251.69 and a 12 month high of $392.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.