Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 707 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPG. Norges Bank bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $554,685,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $3,661,083,000 after buying an additional 3,600,558 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 4,484.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 723,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,228,000 after buying an additional 707,903 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,492,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,839,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $270,876,000 after acquiring an additional 496,998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $126.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.32 and a 52 week high of $152.89. 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 50 day moving average price of $129.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.11.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.92%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.80.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the purchase, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.