Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188,092 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 23,709 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $63,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $341.20 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $354.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $364.35. 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 cap of $85.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.