Swiss National Bank Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company by 5.1% in Q3, selling 37,100 shares and holding 686,200 shares (about 0.28%) valued at roughly $237.6 million.
• Sherwin-Williams beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $2.23 versus $2.16 estimated and revenue of $5.60 billion, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 (annualized $3.20, ~1.0% yield).
• Analysts give SHW a consensus of "Moderate Buy" (11 Buys, 4 Holds, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $388.21, and institutional ownership is high (77.67%) with large positions recently added by firms like Norges Bank and Viking Global.

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 686,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 37,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Sherwin-Williams worth $237,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at about $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $672,213,000 after purchasing an additional 985,520 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 55.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,665,333 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $587,047,000 after purchasing an additional 596,657 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,039,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,043,595,000 after purchasing an additional 553,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,334,918,000 after purchasing an additional 351,453 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on SHW. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $390.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $420.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Vertical Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $371.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.1%

SHW opened at $333.36 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $308.84 and a twelve month high of $379.65. The company's 50-day moving average price is $352.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.51. The stock has a market cap of $82.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.16%.

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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