Westpac Banking Corp Sells 6,868 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 78.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,886 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,868 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,637,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,838,532,000 after acquiring an additional 309,153 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,334,918,000 after purchasing an additional 351,453 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter worth about $1,296,565,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,052,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,056,811,000 after purchasing an additional 12,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total transaction of $915,913.11. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. The trade was a 20.01% 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.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $360.39 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $308.84 and a one year high of $379.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $349.47 and a 200-day moving average of $346.66. 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 company has a market cap of $89.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 31.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $420.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.67.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.