Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Makes New $61,000 Investment in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 428 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,661,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,558 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $554,685,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,659,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,799,000 after buying an additional 81,200 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in PPG Industries by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,839,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $270,876,000 after acquiring an additional 496,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in PPG Industries by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,768,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $264,424,000 after purchasing an additional 417,145 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $126.67 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lowered PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.80.

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.