Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target Raised to $410.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $400.00 to $410.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SHW. Zacks Research lowered Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $378.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.67.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $357.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $346.10 and a 200-day moving average of $346.28. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $308.84 and a 12-month high of $379.65. The company has a market cap of $88.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.07. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 65.26%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.50, for a total value of $1,069,872.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,928,717.50. This trade represents a 35.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHW. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,296,565,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 101.4% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,957,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $672,213,000 after buying an additional 985,520 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 53,827.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 662,225 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $214,581,000 after buying an additional 660,997 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4,029.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 621,532 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $213,410,000 after buying an additional 606,482 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,237,824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,529,752,000 after acquiring an additional 600,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

About Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) is a global manufacturer and distributor of paints, coatings and related products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company supplies a broad range of coatings for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Its product offering includes architectural paints and stains, industrial and protective coatings, automotive finishes, and a variety of sundry products such as primers, sealants and specialty treatments used by professionals and consumers.

The company sells through multiple channels, including a large network of company-operated retail paint stores that serve professional contractors and do-it-yourself consumers, as well as through distributors and mass retailers.