Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired approximately 730,512 shares of PPG Industries, valued at around $79.9 million, constituting about 0.32% of the company's stock.
• PPG Industries recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Several analysts have downgraded or upgraded PPG's rating, with the current consensus being a "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $129.82.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 730,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $79,881,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.32% of PPG Industries at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 482.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $518,132,000 after buying an additional 3,592,655 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in PPG Industries by 815.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,031,164 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $362,074,000 after buying an additional 2,700,018 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in PPG Industries by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,831,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $338,199,000 after buying an additional 324,688 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 3.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,734,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $298,992,000 after buying an additional 85,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in PPG Industries by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,638,353 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $315,151,000 after buying an additional 607,154 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.84. 1,400,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,240,021. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.24 and a 52 week high of $137.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.17.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from PPG Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Fermium Researc raised shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.82.

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.