First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 157 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $480,291,000 after buying an additional 917,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,971,000 after buying an additional 898,143 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares in the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter worth about $169,770,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 54.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,416,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $422,654,000 after purchasing an additional 496,326 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. StockNews.com upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $383.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.17. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $272.34 and a fifty-two week high of $392.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.67.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. The trade was a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.