PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has reduced its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. by 34.1%, selling 7,769 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 15,023 shares valued at approximately $1,643,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on PPG Industries, with target prices ranging from $105.00 to $140.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" based on their recent evaluations.
• PPG Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71 per share, progressing from the previous $0.68, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,023 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,769 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPG. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 10.8% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 771.3% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,960 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 20,325 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 22,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,512,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 494,482 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,060,000 after purchasing an additional 48,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:PPG traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $111.84. 1,400,249 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,240,021. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.24 and a 1-year high of $137.24. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.17. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $112.44 and its 200 day moving average is $110.78.

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

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PPG. Mizuho boosted their price objective on PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Fermium Researc raised shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.82.

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.