Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $13,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,829,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41,520.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 479,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $162,987,000 after buying an additional 478,320 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,717.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 326,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,769,000 after buying an additional 308,921 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.99.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $403.31.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.