Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 756,937 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 756,937 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.66% of PPG Industries worth $3,508,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPG. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $279,000. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth about $868,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,050,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,944,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $617,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $111.55 on Wednesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.15 and a 52-week high of $145.61. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.96 and its 200-day moving average is $121.52.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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 predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.