Rockland Trust Co. Lowers Position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.5% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 87 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Interstate Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.9% during the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 1,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.6 %

Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $341.65 on Wednesday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $365.83 and a 200 day moving average of $359.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $86.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $3.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SHW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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 given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $402.25.

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.