PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) PT Lowered to $164.00 at Bank of America

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $167.00 to $164.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

PPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research raised shares of PPG Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $129.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.54 and its 200 day moving average is $138.85. PPG Industries has a twelve month low of $120.32 and a twelve month high of $152.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 43.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in PPG Industries by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

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.