State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 1,300 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $7,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in PPG Industries by 465.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $114.18 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $145.61. The stock has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.87.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.