California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 100,951 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Sherwin-Williams worth $118,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after buying an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Sherwin-Williams by 14.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 102,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 39,809 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $349.35 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $353.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.63. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $87.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

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.