The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stock Position Cut by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,639 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,473,000 after acquiring an additional 5,801 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,517,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $317.75. 216,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,476,998. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $221.76 and a twelve month high of $348.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $326.67 and a 200 day moving average of $302.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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. Insiders have sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.39.

Sherwin-Williams 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.