PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Stake Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of PPG Industries worth $34,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insight Folios Inc boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 3.8% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,217 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 8,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in PPG Industries by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in PPG Industries by 1.2% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 7,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in PPG Industries by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 431 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPG Industries

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. This trade represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,263,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,677. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.20 and a 52-week high of $145.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.21.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 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, analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.15.

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.