Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Receives Outperform Rating from BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $377.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $385.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on SHW. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $340.00 to $334.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $346.00 to $341.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $341.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock opened at $306.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $328.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $221.76 and a 52 week high of $348.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.43 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,435,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,685,876,000 after purchasing an additional 179,274 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,427,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,384,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,102 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,063,957 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,291,563,000 after purchasing an additional 75,571 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,840,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,197,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,351 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,176,356,000. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.