Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 28,235 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 268,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 28,235 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of PPG Industries worth $40,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in PPG Industries by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.0% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPG Industries by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other PPG Industries news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy M. Knavish bought 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,388.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.3 %

PPG Industries stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.42. 929,256 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,351,544. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $136.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.30. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PPG shares. StockNews.com raised PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp cut their price target on PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries 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.