Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $22.41 Million Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,969 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 4,406 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $22,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 11,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 28,345 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 9,384 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in PPG Industries by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 34,937 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,226 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,048,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 416.5% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 7,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 5,939 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPG. Citigroup cut their price target on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.14.

PPG Industries Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG traded down $3.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $128.04. 4,342,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,466,653. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.55.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 23.50%. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This is a positive change from PPG Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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.