West Oak Capital LLC Reduces Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

West Oak Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHW. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,065 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,013,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 189.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 10,409 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 6,808 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,956,000 after purchasing an additional 24,884 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter worth about $1,231,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SHW traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $347.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 181,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,495. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $321.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $88.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $211.91 and a 12 month high of $347.71.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.72% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total value of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $295.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $352.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.39.

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.