Grandfield & Dodd LLC Raises Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 0.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,897 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $18,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,661,083,000 after buying an additional 3,600,558 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $554,685,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,102,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $402,718,000 after acquiring an additional 341,977 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,659,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,799,000 after buying an additional 81,200 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,839,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $270,876,000 after buying an additional 496,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of PPG stock traded up $3.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $129.71. 1,234,967 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,642,558. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $129.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.06. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities 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.com, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.80.

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.