Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 54,568 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company $SHW

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 54,568 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $41,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 216.0% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 82,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,566,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.9% in the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 9.5% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,089 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter valued at $290,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on SHW shares. UBS Group set a $420.00 target price on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Vertical Research raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $371.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $387.67.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Bryan J. Young sold 2,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $364.47, for a total value of $915,913.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,045 shares in the company, valued at $3,661,101.15. This represents a 20.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total transaction of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. The trade was a 35.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $360.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $308.84 and a 12 month high of $379.65. The stock has a market cap of $89.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $349.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.66.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.