PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $148.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $121.08 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.22 and a 200-day moving average of $127.64. PPG Industries has a one year low of $118.07 and a one year high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in PPG Industries by 5.3% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 134,028 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,753,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,142,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $151,276,000 after buying an additional 198,353 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in PPG Industries by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 7,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 351,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,618,000 after acquiring an additional 27,342 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in PPG Industries by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,593,000 after acquiring an additional 7,629 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PPG Industries

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.