Cwm LLC Increases Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Cwm LLC raised its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $427,580,000 after purchasing an additional 959,849 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 341,977 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,374,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $308,157,000 after buying an additional 117,526 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in PPG Industries by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,342,002 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $174,192,000 after acquiring an additional 9,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in PPG Industries by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,041,804 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $154,219,000 after acquiring an additional 149,387 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $130.15 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.32 and a 52-week high of $152.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.86. The firm has a market cap of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Evercore ISI cut shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.47.

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.