PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) PT Lowered to $139.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $140.00 to $139.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

PPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $151.08.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $125.96 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.76. The company has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.57%. PPG Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The transaction 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in PPG Industries by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,703,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,159,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,222,402 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $554,685,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in PPG Industries by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,659,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $397,799,000 after acquiring an additional 81,200 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 496,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in PPG Industries by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,768,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $264,424,000 after acquiring an additional 417,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

About PPG Industries

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.