Avestar Capital LLC Buys 392 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,139 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after buying an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 724,907 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted 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 valued at $124,769,000 after acquiring an additional 308,921 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,477,000 after purchasing an additional 286,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $361.42 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The stock has a market cap of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (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 period last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.00.

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.