GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $405,000 in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,873 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in PPG Industries by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 87,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $13,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $250,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $499,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Vertical Research upgraded PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.50.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.86. The company had a trading volume of 649,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,865. The stock has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $152.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.97.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

PPG Industries announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.