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

The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Sherwin-Williams’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72.

Sherwin-Williams has increased its dividend payment by an average of 9.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 47 consecutive years. Sherwin-Williams has a dividend payout ratio of 21.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:SHW traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $351.39. 1,394,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,247. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $352.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $365.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Sherwin-Williams has a 1 year low of $282.09 and a 1 year high of $400.42.

Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sherwin-Williams will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SHW shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sherwin-Williams from $450.00 to $405.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $438.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $430.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sherwin-Williams from $370.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sherwin-Williams currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary L. Garceau sold 15,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.