Timothy M. Knavish Buys 2,061 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Stock

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $135.84 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.32 and a 52 week high of $152.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.11. The company has a market cap of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. PPG Industries’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 company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 1.91%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.92%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio raised its stake in PPG Industries by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 126,676 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,442,000 after acquiring an additional 29,203 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 5.6% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 49,923 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in PPG Industries by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 55,910 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,257,000 after buying an additional 14,056 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 13,597 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,765,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter worth $651,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PPG shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.47.

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.