Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 14,312 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,947 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 14,312 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 119 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.3%

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $355.98 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $341.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $355.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.