PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Hixon Zuercher LLC

Hixon Zuercher LLC cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,478 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 845 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $1,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,000. Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 7.0% during the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $86,006,000 after buying an additional 42,380 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the third quarter worth about $604,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,050,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in PPG Industries by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPG Industries Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE PPG opened at $122.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $121.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.58. The stock has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.00 and a twelve month high of $145.60.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 23.63%. Equities analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is presently 43.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lowered PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 price objective (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.23.

About PPG Industries

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.