Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC grew 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 buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th 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. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SHW. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.59.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $353.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $88.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $350.43 and its 200-day moving average is $365.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

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.