Short Interest in RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Declines By 18.7%

RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a decline of 18.7% from the October 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 629,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Tracy D. Crandall sold 3,718 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.71, for a total transaction of $497,133.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,738 shares in the company, valued at $3,040,297.98. This trade represents a 14.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael J. Laroche sold 3,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.14, for a total value of $459,611.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,474,315.44. This represents a 23.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,083 shares of company stock valued at $1,443,549. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of RPM International by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in RPM International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in RPM International by 273.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 336 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in RPM International in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of RPM International by 369.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. 80.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on RPM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of RPM International from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of RPM International from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on RPM International from $136.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.70.

RPM International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RPM traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $135.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 591,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,738. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.92. RPM International has a 52-week low of $100.56 and a 52-week high of $138.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.99.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.09. RPM International had a return on equity of 26.82% and a net margin of 8.43%. The company had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that RPM International will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RPM International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This is an increase from RPM International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. RPM International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.77%.

About RPM International

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.