Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 278,715 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 654,262 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 278,715 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.26% of Sherwin-Williams worth $222,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 valued at $422,654,000 after acquiring an additional 496,326 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1,717.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 326,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $124,769,000 after purchasing an additional 308,921 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $454,917,000 after purchasing an additional 238,031 shares during the period. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $402.25.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock traded up $5.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $346.94. 1,741,105 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,683,401. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $365.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $359.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

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

Sherwin-Williams 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.