Ballast Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Ballast Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 104 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.25.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW opened at $353.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $89.15 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $363.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $359.40. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current 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.