Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,865 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,132,000 after acquiring an additional 6,639 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,473,000 after buying an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,088,000 after buying an additional 2,810 shares during the period. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,517,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $314.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,139,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,521. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $221.84 and a twelve month high of $348.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $324.73 and its 200 day moving average is $305.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.56.

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.