Axa S.A. Boosts Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Axa S.A. raised its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 92.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,240 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 16,949 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $4,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on PPG Industries from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $135.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Fermium Researc upgraded PPG Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.83.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $106.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.24 and a 52 week high of $137.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. PPG Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Company Profile

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.