Wedmont Private Capital Buys 107 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings 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. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $128.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.08. 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 company has a market cap of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.32 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

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

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.