Fayez Sarofim & Co Decreases Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Fayez Sarofim & Co trimmed its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 697,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,739 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.28% of Sherwin-Williams worth $237,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.25.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:SHW traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $331.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,338,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,800. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $343.03 and a 200 day moving average of $357.95. The company has a market capitalization of $83.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.