Davis R M Inc. Sells 2,732 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,732 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $24,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $358.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $353.08 and its 200 day moving average is $365.99. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SHW. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

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.