Brokerages Set The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) PT at $396.47

Shares of The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $396.47.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $455.00 to $446.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE SHW opened at $388.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.17. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $272.34 and a 1 year high of $392.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $377.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $344.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, 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 value of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third 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 period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 10.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,302,120 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $799,595,000 after purchasing an additional 219,149 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $573,538,000 after purchasing an additional 53,487 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 132.8% in the second 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 period. 77.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.