Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,365,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 250,303 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.58% of PPG Industries worth $182,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 163,082.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,157,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $522,813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,341 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 602,706.2% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,640,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $331,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639,853 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $318,155,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 280.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,734,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $227,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,843,159 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,243,597,000 after purchasing an additional 931,097 shares in the last quarter. 79.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $133.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.40 and a 12-month high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 23.59%. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 10th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This is an increase from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.33, for a total value of $530,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,248,574.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other PPG Industries news, Chairman Michael H. Mcgarry sold 58,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.46, for a total transaction of $8,491,663.88. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 195,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,467,394.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.33, for a total transaction of $530,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,574.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About PPG Industries

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials worldwide. The company operates through 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; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.