D.B. Root & Company LLC Reduces Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lessened its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPG. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered 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, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $125.89. 2,585,591 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,101. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $152.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.40.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 43.92%.

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.