The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,278 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $27,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHW. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 583.3% during the first quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $398.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $289.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note 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 two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $391.94.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded down $5.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $345.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,034,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,347. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $308.84 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $86.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $351.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $348.01.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 71.86% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.