Meridian Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 130,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $15,558,000. PPG Industries makes up 2.4% of Meridian Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of PPG Industries at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,648,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in PPG Industries by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 9,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $16,724,000 after purchasing an additional 79,117 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 171.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 604,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $72,238,000 after purchasing an additional 382,366 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.15.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on PPG
Insider Transactions at PPG Industries
In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.
PPG Industries Stock Down 1.3 %
Shares of PPG Industries stock traded down $1.43 on Tuesday, reaching $111.55. 1,818,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,617,964. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.15 and a 1-year high of $145.61. The company has a market cap of $25.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.
PPG Industries Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.
About PPG Industries
(
Free Report)
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.
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