Quent Capital LLC Buys 329 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 136.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 571 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $72,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the first quarter valued at $29,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.8 %

PPG traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.16. 393,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,658,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.49. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $118.96 and a one year high of $151.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.47.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.02. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.57% and a net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. PPG Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 45.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PPG. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.08.

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.