Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,878 Shares of PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:PPG) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,029 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,878 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in PPG Industries were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPG. State Street Corp lifted its stake in PPG Industries by 4.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,717,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,552,100,000 after buying an additional 491,774 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,977,010 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,189,095,000 after purchasing an additional 485,597 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,136,570 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $403,049,000 after purchasing an additional 170,339 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of PPG Industries by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,571,753 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $340,654,000 after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in PPG Industries by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,877,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $248,650,000 after purchasing an additional 36,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PPG Industries

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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,240,835.55. This represents a 11.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PPG Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on PPG Industries from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PPG Industries from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp cut PPG Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.15.

PPG Industries Price Performance

Shares of PPG opened at $116.82 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.29. PPG Industries, Inc. has a 1-year low of $110.20 and a 1-year high of $145.60. The company has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.23.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.61 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that PPG Industries, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPG Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. PPG Industries’s payout ratio is 57.51%.

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.