Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 7,389 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 534,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,389 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams makes up 1.6% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Sherwin-Williams worth $181,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $1.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $336.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,157,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,623,089. The company has a 50-day moving average of $353.91 and a 200-day moving average of $365.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $84.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $401.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.