Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 2,737 Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,737 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.16% of Sherwin-Williams worth $133,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 135.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 45,997 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,556,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth about $696,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,281,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 31,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,912,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

SHW opened at $356.93 on Friday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $352.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $365.12.

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

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.