Atika Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Atika Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 20,600 shares during the period. Atika Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,636,679,000 after acquiring an additional 96,571 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,467,138,000 after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $1,359,747,000. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $331.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $352.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $362.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its 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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were 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 was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

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.