Cleveland, OH, Feburary 9--Sherwin-Williams said that Christopher M. Connor, chairman and chief executive officer, has established a trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act.
Rule 10b5-1 permits individuals who are not then in possession of material nonpublic information to establish prearranged plans to buy or sell stock. The rule allows individuals to buy or sell shares of stock at a specific price in the future, regardless of any subsequent material nonpublic information.
Under the plan, Mr. Connor intends to sell 160,000 shares of Sherwin-Williams common stock during 2005 from time to time, subject to the market price of our common stock. These shares may include shares issued upon the exercise of long-term employee stock options. Mr. Connor's ownership interest in Sherwin-Williams is in excess of stock ownership guidelines, has continually increased over the years, and will again increase in 2005.
This process will facilitate the orderly exercise of employee stock options and the sale of common stock for personal financial planning purposes with the goal of minimizing any market impact and avoiding any concerns about the timing of the transactions.
