Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Reaches New 1-Year High at $348.37

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $348.37 and last traded at $347.33, with a volume of 937610 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $346.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $312.00 to $402.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Sherwin-Williams in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. 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 report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $295.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.39.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $88.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $322.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.01. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 74.72%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Sherwin-Williams Company will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Sherwin-Williams Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.715 per share. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Sherwin-Williams’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.87, for a total value of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the business’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 transaction of $529,653.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.70, for a total transaction of $586,881.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sherwin-Williams

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,043,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 132,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,433,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares during the last quarter. Ariston Services Group purchased a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the 4th quarter valued at $331,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,857,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.67% of the company’s stock.

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.