The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $402.25.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sherwin-Williams from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock traded up $2.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $337.31. 1,413,744 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,756,068. The stock has a market cap of $84.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.22. Sherwin-Williams has a one year low of $282.09 and a one year high of $400.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $357.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($0.19). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 74.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. The business's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.715 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.49%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of Sherwin-Williams stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total value of $971,185.95. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,396,349.27. This trade represents a 28.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,799,196,000 after acquiring an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,921,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $573,538,000 after acquiring an additional 53,487 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 18.5% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,524,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $454,917,000 after purchasing an additional 238,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.67% of the company's stock.

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.