Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 118 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $362.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.22. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.65. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.31.

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.