Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,839,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 496,998 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.78% of PPG Industries worth $270,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 30.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 126,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,442,000 after buying an additional 29,203 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 5.6% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 49,923 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 33.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,910 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,257,000 after purchasing an additional 14,056 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 9.9% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,765,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at $651,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $134.35. 1,273,818 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,767,595. 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 $31.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $137.84 and a 200 day moving average of $139.15. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89.

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

PPG Industries declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 1.94%. PPG Industries's payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Barclays cut their target price on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.