State of Michigan Retirement System Lowers Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $7,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This trade represents 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 this link. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Up 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPG opened at $114.18 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $145.61.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. Equities analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

PPG Industries Company 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.