PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Stock Position Lifted by West Tower Group LLC

West Tower Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $113.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPG. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

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.