Brokerages Set The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) PT at $401.13

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $401.13.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.3 %

SHW stock opened at $345.45 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $353.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.08. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $282.09 and a fifty-two week high of $400.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This trade represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth $1,359,747,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,998,647 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,019,329,000 after buying an additional 960,724 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,073,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $704,855,000 after buying an additional 728,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,829,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.