Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,005 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $34,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at $2,011,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,307 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price target on Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho set a $395.00 price objective on Sherwin-Williams in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $352.78 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $342.98 and its 200 day moving average is $354.87. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $88.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.