Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,330 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 13.0% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,818 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Tamar Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 48,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,608,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $361.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $355.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.10. The company has a market cap of $91.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams 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.