The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stock Holdings Lowered by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 966,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 80,269 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.38% of Sherwin-Williams worth $328,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $2.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $349.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,041,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,690. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $351.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 27.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.