HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $749,000 Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on PPG shares. Argus lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG Industries stock opened at $108.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.64 and a twelve month high of $143.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.86 and its 200 day moving average is $120.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.51%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.