Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,614 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $36,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 69,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,541,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,760,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHW. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $339.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $353.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.80. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.