Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,632 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $14,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after buying an additional 138,170 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after purchasing an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,359,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $322.77 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $81.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $344.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.50.

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.

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