PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Position Cut by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in PPG Industries by 0.7%, selling 4,700 shares and retaining 654,400 shares valued at approximately $71.56 million.
• PPG Industries announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71 per share, representing a 2.7% yield and a total annualized dividend of $2.84.
• Analysts have varying opinions on PPG Industries, with price targets ranging from $105.00 to $135.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 654,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of PPG Industries worth $71,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 249,755 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 302,962 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $33,129,000 after acquiring an additional 12,650 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 966.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 885 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 95.8% during the 1st quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.59. 258,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,214. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.94. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from PPG Industries's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PPG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.82.

PPG Industries 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.