The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $13,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.1 %

SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $352.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.99. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.