Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,939,179 PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,939,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $470,535,000. Norges Bank owned 1.70% of PPG Industries at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPG. FMR LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 68.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,757,000 after purchasing an additional 354,740 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in PPG Industries by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 211,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,062,000 after buying an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $248,650,000 after acquiring an additional 36,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PPG shares. Argus lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PPG traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.61. 1,886,162 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,733,221. The company has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.86 and a 200 day moving average of $120.92. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.64 and a 1-year high of $143.98.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. PPG Industries's payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

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.