PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 124,912 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,650 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $18,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in PPG Industries by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,294,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $427,580,000 after purchasing an additional 959,849 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in PPG Industries by 4,484.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 723,690 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $108,228,000 after buying an additional 707,903 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPG Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,492,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 869,375 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $112,845,000 after acquiring an additional 487,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPG Industries in the third quarter valued at $60,006,000. Institutional investors own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPG traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $129.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,763,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,761. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.91. The company has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.28. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.32 and a 1 year high of $152.89.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.86. The business had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.43 billion. PPG Industries had a net margin of 7.74% and a return on equity of 22.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

PPG Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is currently 43.92%.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

In other news, CFO Vincent J. Morales sold 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.94, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,192.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PPG shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on PPG Industries from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their target price on PPG Industries from $170.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of PPG Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of PPG Industries from $167.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.47.

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.