The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Stock Holdings Lessened by Fernbridge Capital Management LP

Fernbridge Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,054 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 155,524 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams makes up 2.0% of Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Fernbridge Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $32,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $480,291,000 after buying an additional 917,979 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,971,000 after acquiring an additional 898,143 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter worth approximately $169,770,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $396.14 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $377.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $345.63. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a twelve month low of $272.34 and a twelve month high of $400.31. The firm has a market cap of $99.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,301,041.60. This represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.