The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC decreased its holdings 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. The institutional investor owned 5,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% in the second quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,825 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $347.29. 181,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,416,495. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $211.91 and a 12 month high of $347.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.39. The firm has a market cap of $88.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 23,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.66, for a total transaction of $7,588,317.88. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,475 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,743.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $300.00 price target (up from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Northcoast Research raised Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a report on Thursday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.39.

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.