M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 481 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.07% of Sherwin-Williams worth $69,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. &PARTNERS raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 1,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the second quarter valued at about $289,000. First Merchants Corp raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 28.4% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,244 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $345.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $376.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.57. 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 market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 11.09%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. Analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.