UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Reduces Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,324 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,114 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $162,987,000 after buying an additional 478,320 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,477,000 after acquiring an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 864,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $293,889,000 after acquiring an additional 278,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $5.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $339.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,304,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,061. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $353.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $363.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change 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 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $401.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams 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.