The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Ion Asset Management Ltd.

Ion Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Ion Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 106,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,636,679,000 after buying an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,467,138,000 after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $331.97 on Tuesday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $341.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $356.82.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. Equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $392.00.

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.