American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 436,942 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. $PPG

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 72.3%, owning approximately $113.91 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• PPG Industries recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.68.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $129.82 for PPG Industries, with ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong buy" from nine equities research analysts.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 72.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,041,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 436,942 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of PPG Industries worth $113,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 249,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 302,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,129,000 after purchasing an additional 12,650 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 311.2% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 966.3% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PPG shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Fermium Researc upgraded shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.82.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG traded down $0.6030 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.4570. The company had a trading volume of 1,213,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,848. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $112.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.69. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.24 and a 1-year high of $137.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.17.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 23.85%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. PPG Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.750-8.050 EPS. Analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from PPG Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.40%.

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.