Prospector Partners LLC Purchases 8,269 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 8,269 shares during the quarter. PPG Industries comprises 2.0% of Prospector Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of PPG Industries worth $19,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 68.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,757,000 after buying an additional 354,740 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 71,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,446 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter worth $278,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 346,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $46,673,000 after purchasing an additional 41,167 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the third quarter worth $469,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down previously from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.93.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $2.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $123.35. The company had a trading volume of 979,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,813. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.26. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.07 and a 1-year high of $151.16. The firm's 50 day moving average is $126.97 and its 200-day moving average is $127.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid 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 2.21%. PPG Industries's dividend 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.