Webster Bank N. A. Sells 130 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 26.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 763 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PPG. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $149.00 to $148.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $125.89. 2,585,591 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,101. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.45.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

PPG Industries declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 buy up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish purchased 2,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $133.24 per share, with a total value of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.