New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Sells 36 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. lowered its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 771 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $500,402,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $355.31 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.87. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $89.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SHW. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.31.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.