Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,501,707 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,486,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,501,707 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.36% of PPG Industries worth $655,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,546,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $660,752,000 after acquiring an additional 93,455 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $392,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 141.2% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 288,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,477,000 after buying an additional 168,937 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,356,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $400,960,000 after buying an additional 220,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 7,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PPG shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.77.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG traded down $2.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $96.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,149,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,758,183. The company has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.23 and a 12-month high of $142.30. The company's 50-day moving average is $113.74 and its 200 day moving average is $120.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.81%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

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.