The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General trimmed its stake in The Sherwin‑Williams Company by 3.8% in Q3 to 1,439,435 shares (about $498.4M); institutional investors now own roughly 77.67% of the stock while other large funds (Vanguard, Geode, DZ Bank, Norges Bank, JPMorgan) adjusted positions.
• Insider selling: SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares at $364.47 (reducing his holdings by 20.01%) and Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares at $359.50 (reducing his holdings by 35.68%), marking notable insider reductions.
• Operational and shareholder update: Sherwin‑Williams beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.23 vs. $2.16; revenue $5.60B vs. $5.57B) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 ($3.20 annualized, ~1.0% yield), with analysts’ consensus at a “Moderate Buy” and a $388.21 target.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,439,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 56,509 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.58% of Sherwin-Williams worth $498,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,637,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,838,532,000 after purchasing an additional 309,153 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,111,157 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,746,222,000 after buying an additional 90,482 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 9.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,887,808 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,334,918,000 after buying an additional 351,453 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,296,565,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,052,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,056,811,000 after acquiring an additional 12,715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,928,717.50. This represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Vertical Research raised 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, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.21.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $330.57 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $308.84 and a 52 week high of $379.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $352.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.21.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 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 is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is 31.16%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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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