Sit Investment Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. decreased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,420 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded up $3.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $333.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,009,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,179. The stock has a market cap of $83.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $347.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $360.67. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $393.31.

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.