Torray Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Torray Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm 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 quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 58,463 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $500,402,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $356.49 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $351.49 and its 200-day moving average is $365.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $89.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.