Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 2,326 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,478 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $3,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPG. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 41.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $427,580,000 after acquiring an additional 959,849 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 4,484.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 723,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $108,228,000 after purchasing an additional 707,903 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $74,492,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 869,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,845,000 after purchasing an additional 487,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,006,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $130.40 on Wednesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.32 and a 52-week high of $152.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.55.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced 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. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Evercore ISI lowered PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.