Sapient Capital LLC Sells 136 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $2,011,000. Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth about $169,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 322,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,772,000 after acquiring an additional 10,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $357.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.21. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $292.27 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $347.05 and a 200-day moving average of $352.64.

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

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is currently 29.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $405.00 to $385.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.00.

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.