BDF Gestion Makes New Investment in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

BDF Gestion acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 27,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,452,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in PPG Industries by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,210 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,895 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,703 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,984,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.08.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.24. 994,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,259. The firm has a market cap of $27.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. 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 50-day moving average of $127.29 and a 200 day moving average of $134.25. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.07 and a 12 month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

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.