DNB Asset Management AS Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

DNB Asset Management AS cut its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 14.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 10,414 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $21,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,637,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,838,532,000 after acquiring an additional 309,153 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,111,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,746,222,000 after purchasing an additional 90,482 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,334,918,000 after purchasing an additional 351,453 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,296,565,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,052,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,056,811,000 after buying an additional 12,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $362.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $308.84 and a 1-year high of $379.65. The stock has a market cap of $89.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $350.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.71.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SHW shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $420.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.67.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.