Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 534,471 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 81.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 534,471 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $41,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $1,359,747,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41,717.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,636,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $571,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632,391 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,019,329,000 after acquiring an additional 960,724 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $704,855,000 after acquiring an additional 728,798 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,829,000. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $405.00 to $385.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.67.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $335.63. 1,705,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,725,880. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $292.27 and a one year 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $348.60 and a 200 day moving average of $350.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Sherwin-Williams's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.87%.

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.