Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 140 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,629 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,171,802 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $738,261,000 after purchasing an additional 114,591 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,724,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $586,293,000 after purchasing an additional 187,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,472,073 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $500,402,000 after purchasing an additional 50,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $363.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $352.70 and its 200-day moving average is $365.99. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week 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 released 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. 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. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price target (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.