Forsta AP Fonden Sells 2,600 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.4% in Q1, resulting in ownership of 107,100 shares, valued at $11.71 million.
• Analysts have increased target prices for PPG Industries, with Mizuho setting a new target of $135, while Deutsche Bank raised theirs to $140 and J.P. Morgan lowered theirs to $105.
• PPG Industries has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.7%, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.68.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $11,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the first quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 70.6% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 74.6% during the first quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 351 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG stock traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $106.54. 1,838,145 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,195,208. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.24 and a twelve month high of $137.24. The company has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from PPG Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on PPG Industries from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.