Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 16,956 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 329.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,956 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $355,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,432 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 21,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,621 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

PPG Industries Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $126.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $126.56 and its 200-day moving average is $126.89. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.07 and a 1 year high of $151.16.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 43.11%.

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.