Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 66,800 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 234,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 66,800 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Sherwin-Williams worth $79,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE SHW opened at $331.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $362.71. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SHW shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.