Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 323,555 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 185,168 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.13% of Sherwin-Williams worth $123,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $573,538,000 after purchasing an additional 53,487 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $480,291,000 after acquiring an additional 917,979 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,524,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $454,917,000 after acquiring an additional 238,031 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $542,387,000 after acquiring an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,416,257 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $422,654,000 after purchasing an additional 496,326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SHW opened at $396.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.17. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $272.34 and a 12-month high of $400.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $377.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SHW. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.47.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.