Torray Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Torray Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,512 shares during the quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $500,402,000 after buying an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded up $7.26 on Wednesday, reaching $362.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,985,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,785. The company has a market capitalization of $91.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $351.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.87. 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 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 data 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 net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $403.31.

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.