The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Alta Capital Management LLC

Alta Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,357 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams makes up about 1.8% of Alta Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $30,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the 4th 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 stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% in the 4th 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. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the 4th 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. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SHW opened at $356.49 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $351.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $365.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams 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 transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.