National Bank of Canada FI Has $15.53 Million Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 108.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,903 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $15,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Trust Co raised its position in PPG Industries by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 25,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,798,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in PPG Industries by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 12,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 23,039 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 5,458 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.46. 1,372,115 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,773,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.32 and a 52-week high of $152.89. The business's fifty day moving average price is $137.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.15.

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

PPG Industries announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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 issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. UBS Group cut their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.