Perpetual Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 416.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,939 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PPG. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.47.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE PPG opened at $128.49 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.68 and a 200 day moving average of $139.18. The company has a market capitalization of $30.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About PPG Industries

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.