Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 45,562 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 65.1% during the first quarter, owning 24,383 shares after selling 45,562 shares.
• Bank of America upgraded Sherwin-Williams from an "underperform" to a "neutral" rating with a new target price of $375.00, while other analysts have set target prices ranging from $380.00 to $420.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, payable on September 5th to investors of record on August 15th.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 65.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,383 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 45,562 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $8,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 41,717.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,636,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $571,381,000 after buying an additional 1,632,391 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,019,329,000 after buying an additional 960,724 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 1st quarter worth $265,510,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,725,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $926,590,000 after buying an additional 595,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 223.1% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 615,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $214,883,000 after buying an additional 424,930 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $420.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised Sherwin-Williams from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $296.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $391.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.60.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.4%

SHW stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $364.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,785,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,232,279. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $308.84 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $346.00 and a 200 day moving average of $347.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, CAO James P. Lang sold 860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.35, for a total transaction of $301,301.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,081.95. This represents a 69.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.