Morgan Stanley Increases Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target to $450.00

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $375.00 to $450.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.66% from the stock’s current price.

SHW has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $344.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $377.33.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHW opened at $389.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $369.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.53. Sherwin-Williams has a 52 week low of $232.06 and a 52 week high of $392.57. The company has a market cap of $98.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $6.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.33 billion. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 75.58% and a net margin of 10.92%. Sherwin-Williams’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.29 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sherwin-Williams will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sherwin-Williams news, CFO Allen J. Mistysyn sold 14,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.83, for a total value of $5,326,371.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 63,520 shares in the company, valued at $23,301,041.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 81.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams in the third quarter worth $1,787,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Sherwin-Williams by 8.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 38,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,776,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Sherwin-Williams during the 3rd quarter valued at $853,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.