The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Raises Dividend to $0.79 Per Share

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.79 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Sherwin-Williams has increased its dividend by an average of 9.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 47 consecutive years. Sherwin-Williams has a payout ratio of 21.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sherwin-Williams to earn $13.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.86 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

Sherwin-Williams Price Performance

SHW stock opened at $351.39 on Thursday. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $351.78 and a 200 day moving average of $365.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $1.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sherwin-Williams

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. The trade was a 35.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Sherwin-Williams from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $321.00 to $420.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Sherwin-Williams Company Profile

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.