PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Purchased by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its holdings in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in PPG Industries were worth $11,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,369,691 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,508,210,000 after acquiring an additional 756,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in PPG Industries by 17.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,590,041 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPG Industries by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,546,472 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $660,752,000 after buying an additional 93,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,726,630 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $564,596,000 after buying an additional 271,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $470,535,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company's stock.

PPG Industries Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE PPG traded down $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $102.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,937,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,298. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $107.82 and a 200 day moving average of $117.05. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.24 and a 1-year high of $137.24.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. PPG Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.51%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total value of $568,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reissued 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. Finally, Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $130.67.

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.