Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,294 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SHW. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 754 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 848 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $317.75. 216,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,476,998. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $326.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $80.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $221.76 and a fifty-two week high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $395.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $377.00 price target (down previously from $385.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.39.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total value of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock valued at $10,340,237 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.