Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 2,618 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,237 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,618 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $8,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PPG. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.08.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $125.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.00. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.07 and a twelve month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This is a boost from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

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.