MML Investors Services LLC Sells 5,153 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 5,153 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $17,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SHW. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $573,538,000 after purchasing an additional 53,487 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,524,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $454,917,000 after purchasing an additional 238,031 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 54.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,416,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $422,654,000 after buying an additional 496,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com lowered Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

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

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded down $4.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $371.60. 1,574,950 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,645,741. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $93.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50 day moving average price is $379.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.49%.

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.