Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 38,097 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 406,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 38,097 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $155,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,620,939 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,509,601,000 after buying an additional 184,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,302,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $799,595,000 after acquiring an additional 219,149 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,538,000 after acquiring an additional 53,487 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $480,291,000 after acquiring an additional 917,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,524,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $454,917,000 after purchasing an additional 238,031 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $378.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $376.42 and its 200 day moving average is $341.69. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $264.54 and a 52 week high of $392.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $95.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.75, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

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.