The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $396.47.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 18.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SHW. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,609,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $480,291,000 after purchasing an additional 917,979 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 610.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,045,374 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,971,000 after purchasing an additional 898,143 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 40,317.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 724,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,770,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $373.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $376.69 and its 200-day moving average is $343.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.17. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $269.28 and a 52 week high of $392.57.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.45% and a net margin of 11.09%. Sherwin-Williams’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

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.