Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 52.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $2,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $278,000. MQS Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 71.7% in the second quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,749 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,789,000 after buying an additional 10,329 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,810 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,226,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $353.97. 2,392,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $363.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $359.40. The company has a market capitalization of $89.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $402.25.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.