PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Stock Holdings Lessened by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 118,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,863 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $14,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPG. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 11.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,279 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,263,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in PPG Industries by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 346,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $46,673,000 after buying an additional 41,167 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 68.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,757,000 after buying an additional 354,740 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $108.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a PEG 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. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $105.64 and a 1 year high of $145.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.36.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

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.