Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 6,463 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,206 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,463 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $6,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $279,000. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $868,000. Equity Investment Corp boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 649,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $86,006,000 after purchasing an additional 42,380 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $4,050,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in PPG Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPG Industries news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

PPG Industries stock opened at $114.71 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $145.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.74 and a 200-day moving average of $122.68.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.04). PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.78% and a net margin of 6.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

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.