MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Reduces Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,964 shares during the quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 valued at $7,838,532,000 after purchasing an additional 309,153 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,432,977 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,188,698,000 after purchasing an additional 11,560 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% during 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. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.2% during the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,881,091 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $997,607,000 after purchasing an additional 923,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,675,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $926,249,000 after purchasing an additional 52,322 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHW. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $371.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $420.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. This trade represents a 20.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 3.9%

SHW stock opened at $346.17 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $301.58 and a 1-year high of $379.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $337.37 and its 200 day moving average is $338.50. The stock has a market cap of $85.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. 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%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.16%.

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.