Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target Raised to $450.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SHW. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.35.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW opened at $381.75 on Friday. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $232.06 and a 1 year high of $392.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.30 billion, a PE ratio of 38.91, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $371.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.24.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The company had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.715 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the business’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 transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Surience Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $4,064,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the third quarter worth $573,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 0.4% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 29,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,105,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management grew its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 12,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,895,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.