Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Cuts Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after acquiring an additional 138,170 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,032,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $690,796,000 after purchasing an additional 451,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after buying an additional 187,724 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of SHW opened at $339.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $353.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

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

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.