MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,669 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $8,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,232 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 54.1% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Prospector Partners LLC grew its stake in PPG Industries by 6.1% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 144,651 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,160,000 after acquiring an additional 8,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 873,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,757,000 after acquiring an additional 354,740 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPG opened at $124.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.65 and its 200 day moving average is $127.12. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.07 and a 52 week high of $151.16.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.66 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 8.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 target price (down from $160.00) on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPG Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPG Industries news, VP Anne M. Foulkes sold 1,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.80, for a total value of $249,713.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,692,513.20. This trade represents a 12.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.