Bell Asset Management Ltd Takes $6.96 Million Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Bell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 58,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $6,955,000. PPG Industries accounts for approximately 1.3% of Bell Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,404,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth about $365,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 676.5% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 33,919 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,052,000 after purchasing an additional 29,551 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 261.6% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 140,641 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,800,000 after purchasing an additional 101,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PPG traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $100.75. 1,906,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,799,980. The company has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $110.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.09. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.24 and a twelve month high of $137.24.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.51%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.15.

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.