Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 966,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 80,269 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $328,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth about $169,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SHW. Citigroup decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $356.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52-week low of $282.09 and a 52-week high of $400.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $352.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $365.21. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.