The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Holdings Cut by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,220 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after buying an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $1,359,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $344.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $350.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $348.04. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $308.84 and a 52-week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 71.86%. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $405.00 to $385.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho set a $395.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $391.94.

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.