Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,241,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,104,368 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $668,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 184,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,197,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,351 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,536,096 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $791,008,000 after acquiring an additional 56,161 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,302,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $799,595,000 after acquiring an additional 219,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,820,266 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $567,740,000 after buying an additional 49,809 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $418.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up previously from $386.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.68.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $379.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $96.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $348.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $327.03. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $232.06 and a one year high of $380.13.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The company had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.47 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.