Leavell Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 24.9% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,556,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SHW. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $355.38 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.19. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

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

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.