Brown Advisory Inc. Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 786,439 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 72,959 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.31% of Sherwin-Williams worth $267,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $399,675,000 after buying an additional 10,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $542,711,000 after acquiring an additional 78,075 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,913 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 5,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.7 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $359.74 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $342.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $90.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Mizuho set a $395.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.00.

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.