PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,605,110 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 568,562 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.69% of PPG Industries worth $191,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PPG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Argus lowered shares of PPG Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research 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 target price of $138.15.

Insider Activity

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

PPG Industries Trading Down 1.0 %

PPG opened at $107.32 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.13. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.64 and a 12 month high of $145.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. PPG Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.