JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Target Price to $315.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $317.00 to $315.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $337.37.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $306.45 on Wednesday. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $221.76 and a twelve month high of $348.37. The company has a market cap of $77.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $328.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 73.74% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 30.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $28,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Lee Financial Co acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.