The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) to Issue Dividend Increase - $0.79 Per Share

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Sherwin-Williams has increased its dividend by an average of 9.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 47 years. Sherwin-Williams has a dividend payout ratio of 23.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sherwin-Williams to earn $13.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.6%.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Sherwin-Williams stock traded down $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $344.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,871,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,656,506. The company's 50-day moving average is $351.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $400.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. This trade represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.