Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 1,019,765 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 1,526,095 shares.The stock last traded at $371.00 and had previously closed at $381.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHW. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $418.00 price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.35.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Down 4.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $371.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $334.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.19. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 75.58%. The business had revenue of $6.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.15%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total transaction of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tamar Securities LLC increased its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% during the third quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 48,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,608,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 7.9% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 24.1% in the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 98,118 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.