Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 2,127 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,580 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,127 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $11,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 84,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,505,000 after purchasing an additional 5,224 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 52,268 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,331,000 after acquiring an additional 6,634 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,776 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,319,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,757 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 6,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 42,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,726,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.41.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $300.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 262,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,195. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $232.06 and a 12 month high of $348.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $308.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.