Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 218,364 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 207,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 218,364 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Sherwin-Williams worth $70,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew 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 acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.13.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $342.90 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $354.10 and its 200 day moving average is $364.49. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $86.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

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.