The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 347,277 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 62,639 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Sherwin-Williams worth $108,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the third quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW traded down $6.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $302.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,723,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $328.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.39. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37. The stock has a market cap of $76.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Northcoast Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.94.

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.