PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Holdings Lowered by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,988 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burney Co. increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 5,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 9,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 523,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $62,474,000 after buying an additional 206,853 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PPG shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total transaction of $249,713.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

PPG Industries stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $120.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,686,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,164. The firm has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.24. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.00 and a twelve month high of $145.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.80. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. PPG Industries's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries's payout ratio is 43.11%.

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.