PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Purchased by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 84.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,987 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,949 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $9,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 444 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,101 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $383,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 39,966 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,977,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:PPG traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $129.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,763,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,761. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $152.89. The firm has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The business's 50 day moving average price is $139.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. PPG Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PPG. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PPG Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp cut their target price on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered PPG Industries from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $152.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded PPG Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.47.

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.