The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Shares Sold by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 36.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,525 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after acquiring an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,711,000 after purchasing an additional 78,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,047,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $399,675,000 after purchasing an additional 10,709 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $355.38 on Thursday. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a 1-year low of $282.09 and a 1-year high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $354.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SHW. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. The trade was a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams 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.