Insider Buying: PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) CEO Acquires 2,061 Shares of Stock

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $134.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,271,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,767,595. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $137.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.11.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its 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 return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PPG shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PPG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,661,083,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600,558 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $554,685,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 41.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in PPG Industries by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,102,602 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $402,718,000 after purchasing an additional 341,977 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 2,659,974 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,799,000 after purchasing an additional 81,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

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.