Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 28.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,386 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,653 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 11,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $1,163,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 641.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 36,523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,462,000 after purchasing an additional 31,597 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,661,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,558 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 4,006 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $128.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.56 and a 200 day moving average of $139.08. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.32 and a twelve month high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.47.

PPG Industries Company Profile

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.