RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Short Interest Down 18.7% in October

RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a decrease of 18.7% from the October 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 629,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other RPM International news, VP Matthew T. Ratajczak sold 3,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.75, for a total value of $406,335.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,727,311.25. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frederick R. Nance sold 594 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.47, for a total value of $80,469.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,526 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,017.22. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,083 shares of company stock valued at $1,443,549 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RPM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of RPM International by 61.7% during the 3rd 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 shares of RPM International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of RPM International by 273.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 336 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of RPM International by 588.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of RPM International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 80.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on RPM shares. StockNews.com lowered RPM International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $149.00 price objective (up from $139.00) on shares of RPM International in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on RPM International from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on RPM International from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.70.

RPM International Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RPM traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.30. 591,058 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 633,063. The stock has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.99. RPM International has a fifty-two week low of $100.56 and a fifty-two week high of $138.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

RPM International (NYSE:RPM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. RPM International had a return on equity of 26.82% and a net margin of 8.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that RPM International will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RPM International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This is a positive change from RPM International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. RPM International’s payout ratio is presently 42.77%.

About RPM International

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.