National Bank of Canada FI Buys 168,937 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 141.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 288,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 168,937 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $34,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 81.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPG Industries Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of PPG stock opened at $110.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.64 and a 12-month high of $143.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.61 and its 200 day moving average is $120.85.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 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%. Research analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share 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. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus cut shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. KeyCorp downgraded PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,240,835.55. The trade was a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPG Industries Company 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.