PGGM Investments Sells 762 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

PGGM Investments decreased its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 762 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 588.5% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE PPG opened at $130.16 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.96. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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

PPG Industries declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI cut PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.47.

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.