LVW Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

LVW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,606 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the first quarter worth about $2,959,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Vicus Capital bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 13.5% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,551 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 534.5% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $125.89 on Monday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The stock has a market cap of $29.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.76 and a 200 day moving average of $138.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PPG shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of PPG Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced 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 note on Friday, April 19th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.