Optas LLC Acquires 66 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Optas LLC lifted its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SHW. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.00.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $357.90 on Tuesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $359.64 and a 200 day moving average of $363.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Company 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.