PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 82.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 30,074 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,441 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.55. 1,579,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,561,094. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.32 and a fifty-two week high of $151.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.55.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 7.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This is a boost from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Six equities 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.08.

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.