W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Buys 765 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams accounts for approximately 1.1% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Tamar Securities LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 48,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $18,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,871,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SHW traded down $3.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $352.98. 1,498,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,592,436. The company has a market cap of $88.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $365.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $400.00.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.