Ion Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Ion Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $399,675,000 after buying an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $252,000. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth approximately $608,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2,092.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 16,747 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 15,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $392.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $331.97 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $341.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.82.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. The trade was a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.