HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 8,905 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 13.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,905 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $9,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in PPG Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of PPG Industries stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

NYSE PPG traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $126.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,125,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,604,080. The company has a market capitalization of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.69. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.07 and a twelve month high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. PPG Industries's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Company 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.