GAMMA Investing LLC Has $79.23 Million Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 11,737.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 724,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 718,432 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.32% of PPG Industries worth $79,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 124.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,462 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in PPG Industries by 12.0% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 11,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 4,415 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 546,042 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $65,225,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,414 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,814,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $112.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 253,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,687. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.03.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.10. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. PPG Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPG Industries from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.42.

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.