3,189 Shares in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Acquired by GDS Wealth Management

GDS Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,189 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,886 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 106,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 126,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,442,000 after purchasing an additional 29,203 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE PPG traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $134.35. 1,271,735 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,767,595. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

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

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.47.

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.