Bluegrass Capital Partners LP Sells 9,500 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams makes up approximately 3.6% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 13,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 259.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 105,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,955,000 after buying an additional 76,361 shares during the last quarter. Saybrook Capital NC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Saybrook Capital NC now owns 56,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $19,289,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $677,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on SHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.13.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $358.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $353.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

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.