Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 121,369 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company by 31.0%, holding 269,689 shares after selling 121,369 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in Sherwin-Williams, including Capital Research Global Investors, which raised its position by 47.1% in the fourth quarter.
• Sherwin-Williams recently reported a quarterly EPS of $3.38, missing estimates by $0.38, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.79 to be paid on September 5th.

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,689 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 121,369 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Sherwin-Williams worth $94,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,632,391 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 960,724 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 728,798 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $926,590,000 after buying an additional 595,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $103,359,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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 decreased 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $289.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $378.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.33.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of SHW traded up $13.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $344.04. 4,073,916 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,322. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $346.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $348.09. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $308.84 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Sherwin-Williams Profile

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.