First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Cuts Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. trimmed its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPG. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,886 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,553 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 115,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,949,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 106,880 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,873,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 3.2% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $132.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $138.38 and a 200 day moving average of $138.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $152.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.30.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

PPG Industries declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.