Values First Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 66.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,823 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 99 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SHW. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI increased 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, Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’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 value of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 owned by company insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $355.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $354.72 and a 200-day moving average of $365.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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.