PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,437 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 6,448 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $8,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 465.1% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.86% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPG Industries has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Trading Down 2.6 %

PPG Industries stock traded down $3.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.88. 2,447,796 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,029,269. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.25. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $110.20 and a 12-month high of $145.60. The firm has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23. 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 announced its earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 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 Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

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.