Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 234,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 66,800 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $79,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.6 %

SHW stock opened at $331.91 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $352.24 and a 200 day moving average of $362.71. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 last year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price target (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.94.

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.