W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 765 shares during the quarter. Sherwin-Williams comprises approximately 1.1% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1,717.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 326,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $124,769,000 after acquiring an additional 308,921 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after acquiring an additional 286,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE SHW opened at $361.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $353.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.12.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.