Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lowered its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,060 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SHW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $1,176,356,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $432,737,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,197,952,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,351 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2,853.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 650,186 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $202,793,000 after purchasing an additional 628,175 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 8,986.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 534,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $166,592,000 after purchasing an additional 528,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $390.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.41.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $296.95. The company had a trading volume of 413,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,569,686. The stock has a market cap of $75.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $232.06 and a 1 year high of $348.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

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.