EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 10,144 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 56.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,144 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,239,715,000 after acquiring an additional 106,093 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,636,679,000 after purchasing an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,467,138,000 after purchasing an additional 86,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth about $1,359,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.0%

SHW traded down $3.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $352.53. The stock had a trading volume of 430,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,760,616. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $341.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $355.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. The company's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is 29.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SHW. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.00.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.