RPM International (NYSE:RPM) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of RPM International (NYSE:RPM) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $140.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $134.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on RPM. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of RPM International from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $149.00 price target (up from $139.00) on shares of RPM International in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on RPM International from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on RPM International from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised RPM International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

RPM International Stock Performance

NYSE:RPM opened at $122.36 on Wednesday. RPM International has a 1-year low of $103.63 and a 1-year high of $141.79. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.13.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.05. RPM International had a return on equity of 26.82% and a net margin of 8.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. RPM International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that RPM International will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RPM International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. RPM International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael J. Laroche sold 3,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.14, for a total value of $459,611.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,596 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,315.44. This represents a 23.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Tracy D. Crandall sold 3,718 shares of RPM International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.71, for a total value of $497,133.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,040,297.98. The trade was a 14.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,927 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,214 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPM International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of RPM International by 61.7% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in RPM International during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in RPM International during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of RPM International by 369.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 357 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of RPM International in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

RPM International Company Profile

RPM International Inc manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems.