PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 58.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 162,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 226,993 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $19,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PPG Industries by 465.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $111.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.25 and a twelve month high of $145.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $115.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.45. 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 (NYSE:PPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share (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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.68 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity

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 company 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.