Gotham Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 51.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,604 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $856,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $253,000. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 669 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Mizuho set a $395.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $4.98 on Wednesday, reaching $354.12. 1,449,829 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,765,829. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $342.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $355.20. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $88.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

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 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Sherwin-Williams's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.