The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 32,896 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,953 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 32,896 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $80,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,548,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Interstate Bank increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SHW. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This represents a 18.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,855 shares of company stock valued at $12,572,756. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $394.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $378.27 and a 200 day moving average of $345.96. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $272.34 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $99.23 billion, a PE ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 earnings per share. Sherwin-Williams’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.