Capital International Investors Sells 813,540 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Capital International Investors lowered its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 30.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,895,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 813,540 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $644,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the fourth 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 period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after acquiring an additional 106,093 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $333.03 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $344.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.89.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SHW shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.50.

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.