Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 118,387 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,058,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 118,387 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.82% of Sherwin-Williams worth $699,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,494,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,098 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,456,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $8.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $331.91. The stock had a trading volume of 4,337,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,173. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $352.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $362.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.94.

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.