Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 218,364 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 218,364 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $70,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,422,932,000 after buying an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after acquiring an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $342.90 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $354.10 and a 200-day moving average of $364.49. The company has a market capitalization of $86.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.13.

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.