Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 1,128 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,673 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams makes up 0.8% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $21,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its stake 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. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.19.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $313.44 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $349.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $361.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

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.