Meridian Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Meridian Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 130,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,558,000. PPG Industries makes up about 2.4% of Meridian Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $13,648,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in shares of PPG Industries by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 9,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 139,985 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,724,000 after purchasing an additional 79,117 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 171.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 604,758 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,238,000 after purchasing an additional 382,366 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in PPG Industries by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 6,860 shares during the period. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy M. Knavish sold 4,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.35, for a total transaction of $568,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.15.

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.5 %

PPG opened at $110.75 on Friday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $145.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.73. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is presently 57.51%.

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.