Blair William & Co. IL Increases Stock Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 40.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,214 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,276 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $108.83 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $105.64 and a one year high of $143.98.

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

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.