Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 9,740 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,304 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,740 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Tamar Securities LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 48,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 7.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 98,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,449,000 after buying an additional 4,074 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SHW. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $397.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $378.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.09 billion, a PE ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.17. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $272.34 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.20 EPS. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.