The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Receives $401.13 Average Target Price from Brokerages

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $401.13.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $380.00 target price (down previously from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $423.00 target price (up from $418.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,871,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 117,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company's stock.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded down $5.88 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $339.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,061. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $282.09 and a 52 week high of $400.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $353.59 and its 200 day moving average is $363.91. The stock has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

About Sherwin-Williams

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.