Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stake in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,821 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. FMR LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 726,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $277,361,000 after purchasing an additional 724,907 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1,717.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 326,903 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $124,769,000 after purchasing an additional 308,921 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:SHW opened at $352.98 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SHW shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.