KBC Group NV Cuts Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Key Points

• KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company by 3.8% in Q4, selling 5,788 shares and now holds 144,643 shares worth about $46.87 million.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets recently, but consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $379.77 (10 Buy ratings, 5 Hold ratings).
• Sherwin-Williams posted an earnings beat (QEPS $2.23 vs. $2.16) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (annualized $3.20, yield ~1.0%).

KBC Group NV decreased its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,643 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 5,788 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Sherwin-Williams worth $46,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 96.0% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 98 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 129.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 42.4% in the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $420.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $410.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $371.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $379.77.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.3%

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $333.19 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $301.58 and a twelve month high of $379.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $337.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $338.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 65.26% and a net margin of 10.90%.The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Profile

Sherwin-Williams NYSE: SHW is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.

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