The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 347,277 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 62,639 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Sherwin-Williams worth $108,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,256,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,421,518,000 after purchasing an additional 187,478 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,102 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,063,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,291,563,000 after purchasing an additional 75,571 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,662,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $679,108,000 after buying an additional 28,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,524,391 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $643,846,000 after buying an additional 106,319 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $352.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,187,743.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total value of $7,588,317.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $6.90 on Tuesday, hitting $302.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,194,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,146. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $221.76 and a 52-week high of $348.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market cap of $76.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average price is $328.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $298.39.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

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.