Wolverine Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in PPG Industries by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $130.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.05. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $152.89. The company has a market capitalization of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.91.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPG Industries 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.