Smithfield Trust Co Increases Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,382 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries makes up 0.8% of Smithfield Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Smithfield Trust Co owned approximately 0.05% of PPG Industries worth $16,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 28.9% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 337,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,516,000 after purchasing an additional 75,620 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,452,000. Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,006,000 after acquiring an additional 42,380 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 6.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 158,761 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,986,000 after purchasing an additional 9,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $121.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.59. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $118.07 and a one year high of $151.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.