Commerce Bank Cuts Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $6,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $333.03 on Friday. 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 Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $344.78 and its 200 day moving average is $358.76. The company has a market capitalization of $83.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G 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, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SHW. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.50.

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.