Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target Lowered to $380.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $400.00 to $380.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

SHW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.94.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $340.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $85.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $352.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.23. Sherwin-Williams has a 12-month low of $282.09 and a 12-month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after acquiring an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.