PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC

Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC lowered its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,296 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries accounts for about 2.4% of Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Knowledge Leaders Capital LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPG. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 588.5% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In related news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,192.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PPG. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $168.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI lowered PPG Industries from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $152.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:PPG traded up $0.93 on Friday, reaching $130.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,370,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,382. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.32 and a 12-month high of $152.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $30.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.86.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 22.98% and a net margin of 7.74%. The company had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.92%.

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.