The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives $401.13 Average PT from Analysts

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $401.13.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SHW. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $423.00 price objective (up previously from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $345.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $353.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $364.08. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $86.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. 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%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total transaction of $1,008,479.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,836,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,422,932,000 after purchasing an additional 138,170 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,588,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,239,715,000 after buying an additional 106,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,829,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,636,679,000 after buying an additional 96,571 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,316,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,467,138,000 after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,359,747,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently 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.