The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) Declares Dividend Increase – $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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Sherwin-Williams has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 47 years. Sherwin-Williams has a dividend payout ratio of 21.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sherwin-Williams to earn $13.37 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 21.4%.

Sherwin-Williams Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHW opened at $349.85 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $351.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $365.20. The stock has a market cap of $88.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.22.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.02. Sherwin-Williams had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 74.50%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.92, for a total value of $6,275,198.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,621,253.60. This represents a 35.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $435.00 to $408.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Zelman & Associates raised Sherwin-Williams to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.