Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 55.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,821 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,799,196,000 after buying an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $542,711,000 after purchasing an additional 78,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,124,999 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $382,421,000 after purchasing an additional 40,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.6 %

SHW stock traded down $5.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $344.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,871,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,506. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $351.44 and a 200 day moving average of $365.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SHW. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $400.00.

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.