Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 826 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 826 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $334.56 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.