Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,860 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $2,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,196,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,876,000 after buying an additional 1,858,895 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,850,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,071,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of PPG Industries by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,552,100,000 after purchasing an additional 491,774 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in PPG Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares during the last quarter. 81.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE PPG opened at $113.07 on Tuesday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $145.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

Insider Activity at PPG Industries

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 value of $568,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.