Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 88.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,176 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 8,656 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.6 %

SHW stock opened at $356.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $351.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.86.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

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.