PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC cut its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of PPG Industries worth $37,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $470,535,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $381,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858,895 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,262,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590,041 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP purchased a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,850,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PPG Industries by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,508,210,000 after purchasing an additional 756,937 shares in the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG traded up $1.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,240,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,972. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.24 and a twelve month high of $137.24. The company's 50-day moving average price is $109.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.04.

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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.31.

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.