Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target to $350.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $380.00 to $350.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SHW. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (down from $423.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.31.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of SHW stock opened at $337.11 on Wednesday. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The company has a market capitalization of $84.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $360.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Sherwin-Williams by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,680 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its position in Sherwin-Williams by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after buying an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,498,000 after buying an additional 4,439 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 542.0% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 339,707 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,477,000 after buying an additional 286,791 shares in the last quarter. 77.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.