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

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 22,478 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $3,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPG Industries Price Performance

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

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company 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 yield of 1.99%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PPG shares. Barclays cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.50.

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.