Bluegrass Capital Partners LP Sells 9,500 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP reduced its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 44.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams comprises about 3.6% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SHW. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $358.11 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.99. The company has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Sherwin-Williams 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.