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. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.65 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th.

PPG Industries has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. PPG Industries has a dividend payout ratio of 27.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,643,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,701. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $140.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.87. PPG Industries has a 12 month low of $120.32 and a 12 month high of $152.89. The company has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 6.96%. PPG Industries’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPG Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 470,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,380,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $341,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPG shares. Barclays cut PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $163.00 to $149.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Vertical Research upgraded PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on PPG Industries in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.00.

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.