Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target to $370.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $380.00 to $370.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.60% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $317.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $338.42.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:SHW traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $306.81. The stock had a trading volume of 885,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,447,149. The company has a market capitalization of $78.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.15. Sherwin-Williams has a 1-year low of $221.76 and a 1-year high of $348.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.05). Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 73.74%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Sherwin-Williams news, insider Justin T. Binns sold 1,563 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,302.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,329 shares in the company, valued at $2,029,710.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,050 shares of company stock worth $10,340,237. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 16.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 47,568 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,639 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,444,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 149.0% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 9,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 16,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter valued at about $4,517,000. 77.67% of the stock is 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.