PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PPG. KeyCorp reduced 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $155.50.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $131.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. PPG Industries has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $152.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.16 and its 200-day moving average is $138.99.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (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 23.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $554,685,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,661,083,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,558 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $427,580,000 after acquiring an additional 959,849 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in PPG Industries by 4,484.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 723,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,228,000 after acquiring an additional 707,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $74,492,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PPG Industries

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.