KBC Group NV Sells 33,066 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,944 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 33,066 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $31,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,711,000 after buying an additional 78,075 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $399,675,000 after buying an additional 10,709 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SHW opened at $364.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $361.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $362.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. UBS Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.29.

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.