Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) Price Target Cut to $415.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $438.00 to $415.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.33% from the stock’s current price.

SHW has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Sherwin-Williams from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.82.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of SHW stock traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $359.83. The stock had a trading volume of 509,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,824. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.62 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.22. Sherwin-Williams has a twelve month low of $282.09 and a twelve month high of $400.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $359.64 and its 200 day moving average is $363.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a return on equity of 74.50% and a net margin of 11.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sherwin-Williams

In related news, SVP Gregory P. Sofish sold 2,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.63, for a total transaction of $971,185.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,349.27. This represents a 28.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total transaction of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,205 shares in the company, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sherwin-Williams

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 18.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,482,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,474,238,000 after purchasing an additional 999,164 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,733,131 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,799,196,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,421,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,843 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Sherwin-Williams by 5.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,412,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $542,711,000 after purchasing an additional 78,075 shares during the period. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sherwin-Williams by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,124,999 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $382,421,000 after acquiring an additional 40,825 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.