PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,969 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $9,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $554,685,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $427,580,000 after acquiring an additional 959,849 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,102,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $402,718,000 after acquiring an additional 341,977 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,374,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $308,157,000 after acquiring an additional 117,526 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,839,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $270,876,000 after acquiring an additional 496,998 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG stock traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, hitting $134.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,681,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,465. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.95. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The stock has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. PPG Industries's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. PPG Industries's payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries 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 $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Company 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.