Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 50.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,908 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,640 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.07% of PPG Industries worth $20,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $470,535,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $381,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,895 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 buying an additional 1,590,041 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth $107,850,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,508,210,000 after purchasing an additional 756,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPG. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG stock traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $104.10. 1,010,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,777,441. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $108.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.46. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.24 and a 12 month high of $137.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.