PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Downgraded by KeyCorp to “Hold”

KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PPG has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.29.

PPG Industries Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:PPG traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $120.19. The stock had a trading volume of 608,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,688. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.30 and a 200 day moving average of $126.37. The company has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. PPG Industries has a one year low of $118.07 and a one year high of $150.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. PPG Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.11%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPG. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries by 28.9% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 337,726 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,516,000 after buying an additional 75,620 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,006,000 after acquiring an additional 42,380 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $340,654,000 after acquiring an additional 15,161 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 139.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 128,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,043,000 after purchasing an additional 74,984 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.