Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 446,305 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,480 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $51,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPG. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,876,000 after buying an additional 1,858,895 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,850,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,508,210,000 after buying an additional 756,937 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,071,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after acquiring an additional 491,774 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $107.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.64 and a 12 month high of $145.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.23. 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 (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on PPG shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup 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 Wednesday, December 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

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.