Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 482.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,337,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 3,592,655 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries makes up about 1.7% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 1.87% of PPG Industries worth $518,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PPG. Barclays PLC increased its position in PPG Industries by 21.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,142,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $151,276,000 after buying an additional 198,353 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in PPG Industries by 69.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,004 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,153,000 after buying an additional 22,198 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,306 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $403,049,000 after purchasing an additional 170,339 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:PPG traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $102.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,138. The company has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.98. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.24 and a 52 week 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.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PPG shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.