The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100,951 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $118,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHW. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after buying an additional 10,709 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 102,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 39,809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SHW. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.8 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $349.35 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $353.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.63. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $87.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

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.