Kestra Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kestra Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 57.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $85,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $349.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $351.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $365.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 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 period last year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

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.