Conning Inc. Sells 874 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 36.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,539 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $2.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $350.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,088,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,639. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $296.40 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $87.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $351.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $347.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 71.86%. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $405.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.31.

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.