Liberty Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Liberty Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after acquiring an additional 10,709 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 59.5% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 112.7% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 704 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW stock opened at $353.78 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The firm has a market cap of $88.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $353.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.13.

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.