Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 102.3% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $378.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $376.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.69. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $264.54 and a 12-month high of $392.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $95.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.75, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SHW. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. The trade was a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.