The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after buying an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,387,000 after buying an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,711,000 after acquiring an additional 78,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,124,999 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $382,421,000 after acquiring an additional 40,825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.7 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $353.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $350.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $365.62. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $88.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.59.

Sherwin-Williams 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.