Eukles Asset Management Cuts Stock Holdings in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)

Eukles Asset Management reduced its position in The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Sherwin-Williams makes up about 1.8% of Eukles Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Sherwin-Williams were worth $4,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SHW stock opened at $360.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $356.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $364.75. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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 owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SHW. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.00.

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.