Morgan Stanley Boosts Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target to $450.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SHW. StockNews.com downgraded Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $377.33.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $388.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,241,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,529,468. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $232.06 and a one year high of $392.57. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $369.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $333.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $3.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,301,041.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 102.3% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 136.4% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 104 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 233.3% in the second quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 110 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sherwin-Williams in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 77.67% of the stock is 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.