Manhattan Associates Inc. (MANH), Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC) and Sherwin-Williams Co (SHW) Had Insiders Sell Shares This Past Week

Widely-known Paint Maker Had Board Member Sell Shares

Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) had one Board member sell some shares last week. Director David F. Hodnik sold 243 shares for $297.44 each and 600 shares at $297.54 apiece on Friday, cutting his overall ownership to 11,295 shares. These insider sales come after the paint maker released a stronger-than-expected earnings report last week.

In March, Sherwin-Williams announced that it had agreed to purchase rival Valspar Corp (NYSE:VAL) for roughly $11.3 billion, a deal that would enable the acquirer to receive more access to big-box retailers such as Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), as well as expand operations abroad. Under the terms of the newly-sealed agreement, Valspar shareholders will receive $113 per share in cash should the merger receive approval. The multi-billion-dollar merger will result in $280 million annual cost synergies within two years, with the long-term cost synergy target being $320 million. The combined paint behemoth has 2015 pro-forma annual revenue of roughly $15.6 billion, more than the top-line figures of $15.3 billion and $13 billion for industry rivals PPG Industries and Akzo Nobel N.V., respectively. Analysts at Credit Suisse believe that there is a 95% probability that the business combination will close successfully. Credit Suisse also assigned an 80% probability that the deal will go through without undergoing any divestitures and a 15% probability that the deal will go through with some divestitures.

Shares of Sherwin-Williams have advanced by 15% since the beginning of 2016 and trade at a forward PE multiple of 21.3, which is very close to the forward PE ratio of 21.1 for the Specialty Chemicals sector. Charles Paquelet’s Skylands Capital owns 8,210 shares of Sherwin-Williams Co (NYSE:SHW) as of the end of the March quarter.

Disclosure: None