Dearborn Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 18,165 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams comprises approximately 1.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $30,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SHW. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,022 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 82.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 7,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter valued at $673,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 94.4% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,907 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter valued at about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $13.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $344.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,073,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,539. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $346.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.07. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $308.84 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.76 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.31 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 66.91% and a net margin of 11.03%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SHW shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $420.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $391.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $289.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.33.

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.