The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stake Cut by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,444,000. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 20.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,337,000 after acquiring an additional 6,909 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 261,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,510,000 after acquiring an additional 13,984 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $360,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $302.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.90. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $232.06 and a 52-week high of $348.37.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised Sherwin-Williams from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.41.

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.