Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in PPG Industries by 26.7% in Q1, owning 13,343 shares post-sale, worth approximately $1.46 million.
• PPG Industries experienced mixed analyst ratings, with target prices ranging from $105.00 to $135.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.71 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 11th, reflecting a yield of 2.7%.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,343 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,871 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 2,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1,268.5% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 31,215 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,413,000 after purchasing an additional 28,934 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in PPG Industries by 45.8% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 28,521 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 8,960 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in PPG Industries by 1.3% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 24,652 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,696,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Fermium Researc raised shares of PPG Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $126.00 price target (down previously from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.82.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG stock traded up $3.79 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $112.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,649,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,790. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average is $112.43 and its 200 day moving average is $111.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.22. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.85% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

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

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.