Analysts Set The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Target Price at $392.50

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $392.50.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Berenberg Bank raised Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $321.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $322.77 on Friday. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $344.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $358.32. The company has a market cap of $81.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Insider Activity

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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.