Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $825.68 Million Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,428,978 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 104,179 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams comprises 0.7% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $825,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 683,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $232,377,000 after acquiring an additional 74,994 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth about $152,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of SHW stock opened at $339.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $353.59 and a 200-day moving average of $363.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

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.