Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 1,468 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $9,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $123.41 on Thursday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a one year low of $118.07 and a one year high of $151.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.52 and its 200 day moving average is $127.93. The company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,692,513.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on PPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $145.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $148.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

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.