Boston Partners Has $248.17 Million Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Boston Partners increased its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 4.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,713,126 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80,710 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in PPG Industries were worth $248,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries during the first quarter worth about $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE PPG traded down $2.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $123.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,963. The company has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $128.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.93. 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 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted 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. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 positive change from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.