American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 176.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,357 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.10% of PPG Industries worth $28,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the first quarter worth $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the first quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $127.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.95. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.07 and a twelve month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America cut their target price on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $148.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.08.

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.