Sapient Capital LLC Grows Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $3,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $277,361,000 after acquiring an additional 724,907 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 864,558 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $293,889,000 after purchasing an additional 278,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $359.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $356.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.98.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $1.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SHW shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus 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.