American Trust Reduces Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

American Trust decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 19.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,727 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,601 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the third 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. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, First Interstate Bank raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $364.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,118,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,481. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $379.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 11.09%. The firm's revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 28.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $396.47.

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.