Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 6,789 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 70.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,789 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SHW. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146,102 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $432,737,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $202,793,000 after buying an additional 628,175 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 188.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 758,914 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $193,561,000 after purchasing an additional 495,668 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 985,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $251,456,000 after acquiring an additional 327,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.2 %

SHW traded up $3.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $318.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,774,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,551. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37. The stock has a market cap of $80.82 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $326.85 and its 200-day moving average is $302.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.