Short Interest in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Declines By 24.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in Sherwin-Williams has dropped by 24.3% as of July 31, totaling 3.3 million shares, indicating that only approximately 1.4% of the company's stock is currently sold short.
• Insider trading activity was noted, with CAO James P. Lang selling 860 shares at $350.35 each, representing a significant 69.52% decrease in his ownership of company stock.
• Sherwin-Williams recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, with an annual yield of 0.9%, scheduled to be paid on September 5th.

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,300,000 shares, adeclineof24.3% from the July 15th total of 4,360,000 shares. Approximately1.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, CAO James P. Lang sold 860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.35, for a total transaction of $301,301.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $132,081.95. The trade was a 69.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1,110.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 106,575 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,228,000 after purchasing an additional 97,772 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 16,828 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,719,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 766 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 10,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SHW. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $391.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $395.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $296.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.60.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $366.9450 on Thursday. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $308.84 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $346.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.70 earnings per share. Sherwin-Williams's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sherwin-Williams has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.200-11.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 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, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Sherwin-Williams's payout ratio is 31.35%.

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.

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