JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Target Price to $315.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $317.00 to $315.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $385.00 to $380.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $352.00 to $340.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $337.37.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $306.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $77.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $328.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $221.76 and a 12 month high of $348.37.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams’s payout ratio is 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,014.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at $4,935,302.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd D. Rea sold 2,449 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.54, for a total transaction of $767,859.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,014.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 9,310.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 941 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 6.0% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,556 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter worth $4,443,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 11,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.