Axa S.A. Purchases 43,708 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Axa S.A. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 12.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,708 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A. owned 0.17% of PPG Industries worth $48,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $148.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.08.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $127.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $125.54 and its 200-day moving average is $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.49. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.07 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share 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. This is a positive change from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is presently 45.95%.

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.