US Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

US Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,816 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GDS Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 37.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 126.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PPG shares. Evercore ISI downgraded 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. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.60. 507,638 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,753,399. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.11. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. PPG Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

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

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.