Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 4,751 PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,751 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 456 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,288 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,779 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 5,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,147 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE PPG traded up $0.23 on Tuesday, hitting $110.58. 308,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,817,834. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.24 and a 52-week high of $137.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $106.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.06.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.10. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's payout ratio is 58.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.42.

PPG Industries Company 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.