KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 114,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,648,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPG. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,850,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PPG Industries during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,071,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% during the third 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 grew its stake in PPG Industries by 5.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PPG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on PPG Industries from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

PPG Industries Stock Down 0.5 %

PPG stock opened at $110.75 on Monday. PPG Industries, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $145.61. 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’s 50 day moving average is $116.09 and its 200-day moving average is $121.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 23.78%. Sell-side 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. Investors 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 yield of 2.46%. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.51%.

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.