River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in RPM International Inc. $RPM

River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 64,015 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,658,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in RPM International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $402,000. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new position in RPM International during the second quarter worth approximately $1,534,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in RPM International by 21.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 355,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,096,000 after buying an additional 63,532 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of RPM International by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 339,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,260,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of RPM International by 5.2% in the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 12,031 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

RPM International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RPM opened at $108.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.01. RPM International Inc. has a one year low of $92.92 and a one year high of $129.12.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.20. RPM International had a return on equity of 22.55% and a net margin of 8.63%.The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that RPM International Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

RPM International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 16th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. RPM International’s payout ratio is currently 41.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised RPM International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on RPM International from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of RPM International from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of RPM International from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of RPM International from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.42.

RPM International Profile

RPM International Inc is a global holding company whose subsidiaries specialize in the manufacture and marketing of high-performance coatings, sealants, building materials, and specialty chemicals. Through its two principal operating segments—Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings—RPM serves a diverse range of end markets, including construction, consumer products, industrial maintenance, and specialty applications.

The company’s Performance Coatings segment offers a broad portfolio of architectural coatings, waterproofing systems, and specialty building products used by contractors, builders, and homeowners.