Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $1.21 Million Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after buying an additional 2,146,102 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $432,737,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $202,793,000 after buying an additional 628,175 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 188.3% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 758,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,561,000 after buying an additional 495,668 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 49.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 985,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $251,456,000 after buying an additional 327,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $306.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $328.05 and its 200-day moving average is $299.19. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.41 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $337.37.

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.