Empirical Finance LLC Grows Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,148 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 61,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $8,930,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in PPG Industries by 3.0% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 34,470 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,995,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in PPG Industries by 2.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 154,969 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,406 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 17.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,703,066 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,159,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222,402 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $669,000. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE PPG opened at $122.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.07 and a 52-week high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on PPG shares. Barclays decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $148.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp cut their target price on PPG Industries from $162.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $152.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.