Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) to Overweight

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $420.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company's stock, up from their previous price target of $350.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SHW. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $423.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a report on Friday, January 31st. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.00.

Sherwin-Williams Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SHW traded up $6.10 on Wednesday, hitting $359.74. 1,398,615 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,768,049. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $342.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $356.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24. Sherwin-Williams has a 12 month low of $282.09 and a 12 month high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sherwin-Williams Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Sherwin-Williams's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.87%.

Insider Transactions at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, insider Colin M. Davie sold 2,799 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.30, for a total value of $1,008,479.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,933,009.50. This represents a 34.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHW. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Perkins Coie Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 583.3% during the first quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.