PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Stake Lessened by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 76.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 119,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $4,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $470,535,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $381,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,895 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PPG Industries by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,567,051 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,262,234,000 after buying an additional 1,590,041 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $107,850,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,508,210,000 after buying an additional 756,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 target price (down previously from $143.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of PPG Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.67.

PPG Industries Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:PPG traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,341,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,985. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.29. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.24 and a 1 year high of $137.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Equities analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business'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 transaction of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.