PPG Industries, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.65 (NYSE:PPG)

PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of 0.65 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th.

PPG Industries has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 53 years. PPG Industries has a dividend payout ratio of 27.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect PPG Industries to earn $9.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.9%.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock traded down $4.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.92. The stock had a trading volume of 4,643,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,701. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.53 and its 200 day moving average is $138.87. PPG Industries has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Vertical Research raised shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.00.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 163,082.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,157,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $522,813,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,341 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,480,664 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,661,083,000 after buying an additional 3,600,558 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 602,706.2% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,640,291 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $331,994,000 after buying an additional 2,639,853 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $318,155,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 280.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,734,894 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $227,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

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.