Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Cuts Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lowered its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,706 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $3,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $124.79. 308,844 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,657,516. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.99. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The company has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.26.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 43.92%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish acquired 2,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $133.24 per share, for a total transaction of $274,607.64. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,774,388.92. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten 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 $155.47.

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.